


Blackbird

by ThatOneOctopus



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Torture, Interdimensional shenanigans, Lupin went and stole himself a second Jigen, Mentions of past abuse, Multi, OT4, Poly gang gets a weird addition, This is weird, Violence, like really weird
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-01-27 11:20:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 40,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21391294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneOctopus/pseuds/ThatOneOctopus
Summary: Based on the ideas sprouted from the fic "Karakuri Ningyō" by Liz_Tudor.Who would've thought the hardest part of rescuing another version of Jigen from a horribly twisted timeline would come AFTER getting everyone home safe?
Relationships: Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III/Mine Fujiko, Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III
Comments: 112
Kudos: 113





	1. Blackbird

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elizabeth Tudor (Liz_Tudor)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liz_Tudor/gifts), [QuillHeart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuillHeart/gifts).

> I have... very little idea of how to explain what this is. I read a fic about a sociopath Lupin and his Jigen who had repeated dreams of a happier timeline, and this just kinda appeared in my brain. The second Liz was kind enough to give me permission to go nuts, I sat down and this piece is what happened.
> 
> I'm not putting it as a completed fic just yet, because heaven help me I may want to add more later, but for now it'll sit as-is. Probably.

_ “Boss!” _

One last horrified scream, realizing he couldn’t stop what was about to happen.

_ “LUPIN!” _

The crime lord before him warped and faded out of existence as the world snapped like a rubber band. 

They tumbled to the ground from the whiplash of moving very suddenly without really going anywhere, and no one was able to speak for a minute as they all gasped to reclaim the air that had been punched from their chests. Gone was the city they had been in a moment ago; gone were the angry mobsters, the furious samurai, and _ him. _ Now everything was quiet, lying on the grass of a well-kept lawn with birds singing in the nearby trees.

Finally, Lupin began to laugh.

“We… we just did that!” he cackled breathlessly. “The world’s first interdimensional heist!”

“Yeah, that’s great.” Jigen’s voice was strained and frustrated. “Now are you gonna help me with this or what?”

Lupin’s laughter fell away as he sat up and turned to face his partner, as well as the person his partner was lying on top of, held down on their stomach with their hands pinned behind their back.

The… second Jigen. 

Goemon was already getting up and moving to help, but Lupin held out a hand to stop him. “It’s okay, you don’t have to hold him anymore.”

Jigen cast him a skeptical look as the thief approached, crouching down to look the doppelganger in the eye as best he could, considering how the second Jigen was still struggling and thrashing like a rabid animal. 

“Hey,” Lupin reached forward with one finger to tap the double on the nose, which seemed to startle him into holding still for a second. “You know there’s no going back, right? You can’t get there without our help. ...And honestly?” 

The thief’s expression darkened for a moment, and for just an instant the coldness in his gaze almost made the pinned Jigen feel he was looking at his boss again. “I’d rather die than let him ever get his hands on you again.”

The second Jigen stared as different emotions danced across his face: shock, confusion, hatred, despair.

“C’mon Jigen, let ‘im up.” Lupin stood and held out a hand to help his partner to his feet.

“This is a bad idea,” the gunman grumbled, but he took the offered hand anyway, careful to hold both his gun and the exact copy he had taken from the doppelganger out of reach.

The double reacted instantly. His hands whipped around to push himself up and back, leaping to his feet and putting a good ten feet between himself and the others, still half-crouched and ready to fight. There was murder in his eyes, but it was clear he knew he was unarmed and outnumbered, not to mention trapped in unfamiliar territory.

Lupin looked entirely unfazed by the glare being leveled at him and his crew. “You can run if you want, but the nearest town’s ten miles out. It’ll be a lot easier and comfier if you just come inside with us.”

The other Jigen seemed almost insulted by the suggestion, but after staring at Lupin for a minute he finally spoke, albeit in a slow, angry growl. “The fuck do you people want from me?”

Four pairs of eyes looked to the thief in silence. He didn’t answer for a few moments, slowly looking the second marksman up and down as though he was _ really _ taking him in for the first time. At last, a tired smile appeared on Lupin’s face.

“A chance.”

When the response was a confused, suspicious stare, the thief continued. “Give us a chance to let you have more, okay? You’re not here to be a prisoner.”

“What could you give me that’s better than what I have? You’re just cheap knock-offs playing in the little leagues.” There was something hollow in those words, like the double was speaking as much to himself as he was to them. 

“We were good enough to steal _you,_ at least,” Fujiko cut in with a huff. “You’re lucky we got you away from that maniac.”

That hit a nerve. “Don’t you fucking _ dare _ talk about him!” The second Jigen took a step forward before seeming to remember his situation, stopping and gritting his teeth with barely-contained rage.

“Okay, okay, let’s all take a deep breath.” Lupin stepped between them and held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Fujiko, I love you, but shush. We can talk about that stuff later. For right now, let’s just go inside, maybe grab something to eat, and try to… _ adjust _ a little.”

Jigen, the one who actually belonged here, gave a heavy sigh. “Lupin, I don’t think that’s gonna—”

Whatever he was going to say was cut off as the doppelganger took the opportunity of their distraction and bolted, ignoring the shouts of alarm from behind him. He knew they were too weak to shoot him for running. 

* * *

Lupin—no, _ not _ Lupin, the _ fake _—hadn’t been kidding about them being miles from civilization. There was nothing but trees, hills, and rocks as far as the eye could see, and it felt like he hadn’t made any headway at all by the time he had to stumble to a halt, doubled over and panting.

It didn’t seem like they were chasing him, but that could change any minute. He knew he had to keep moving, but when he tried to force himself forward he only staggered until his back hit a tree, and his legs gave way beneath him. 

Only now, staring at his shaking hands in the faint light of dusk, did Jigen start to truly realize he was afraid. 

This was the ultimate failure: he had let himself be overpowered and taken captive by those weak fakes, and now he wasn’t even in the right _ world _ anymore. Surely Lupin, one of the most brilliant and powerful men in the world, _ could _ find a way to get here—but after such a pathetic display, would he even bother to try? If Jigen could be taken by these idiots, then was he really worth saving?

Those fucking dreams of his clearly had something to do with how this all happened to begin with, considering the fakes had mentioned their Jigen having dreams that reflected the real world as well; so if he had helped cause this _ and _ been unable to stop these copies… God, how pitifully weak did that make him?

Lupin had higher standards than that. He _ deserved _ better.

_ “I’d rather die than let him ever get his hands on you again.” _

The words struck Jigen right to the heart, the echo rattling against his ribs until he felt sick. They would never let him go, and he couldn’t even begin to guess how to get back on his own. And even if he _ did _ somehow find a way, there was no guarantee he would be forgiven for making such a god-awful mess of things… he didn’t think he could take that rejection, no matter how much he deserved it. 

So then… now what? Was he doomed to be some prize; a trophy to show how these cheap imitations had managed to steal from the Lupin Syndicate? The very thought made his blood boil.

_ “Give us a chance to let you have more.” _

The fuck did that even mean? He had seen more than enough through the other Jigen’s eyes to know these people had nowhere near the power and wealth the real Lupin controlled; there was nothing ‘more’ they could possibly offer him. 

Unbidden, his thoughts strayed to memories from his dreams—to lazy touches and idle conversation, basking in each other’s company and the closeness that seemed so effortless.

A twig snapped, and he jolted back to the present. Scrambling back to his feet, he barely had time to even think of finding a makeshift weapon before a shape appeared from the dark, and he was suddenly looking at the last face he wanted to see: his own. 

The fake Jigen (or was _ he _ the fake now, in this world?) was infuriatingly nonchalant as he strode up and stopped about six feet away, leaning his shoulder against a tree like he did this kind of thing every day.

“So, you done freaking out yet?” 

Jigen bristled at the question. “Fuck you. You think I’m just gonna roll over and play nice?!”

“You’re just makin’ things harder on yourself, y’know,” the fake remarked with only the tiniest hint of annoyance. “We’re not interested in hurting you.”

“And I’m not interested in being anyone’s pet.”

Even without seeing his eyes, Jigen could tell the fake was raising an eyebrow at him, but he seemed to bite back whatever he was going to say and sighed instead. “Look, I get that this is _ way _ different from anything you’re used to. Hell, _ none _ of us are used to this, we’re all just making shit up as we go here. But it’d break Lupin’s heart if anything happened to you now, and even though I’ll admit I’ve got my fair share of self-loathing problems, I don’t want anything to happen to you either.”

“Why?” Jigen finally unclenched ever-so-slightly. “You don’t even know me.”

“That’s a lie and you know it,” the fake said sharply and without hesitation. “If your dreams were anything like mine, and I bet they were, we know each other real well already. And not just cuz we’re sorta the same person.”

“So you think we should forget everything and be friends, is that it?”

“No. I think you should do what Lupin asked, and give us a chance.”

When Jigen was silent for a minute, the fake shrugged and continued speaking. “Or you could stay out here and starve or freeze to death, if you really want. But I’d like to think you ain’t stupid enough to do that.”

* * *

Lupin was over the moon when both Jigens returned, no matter how reluctant the doppelganger was to be there. It had taken a promise that if things didn’t seem any better within a week, Jigen wouldn’t stop his double from leaving to find a place for himself in this world, but that and common sense had won out in the end.

The gang spent the night in a fairly typical way: picking over leftovers because they were all too tired to cook or get takeout, lounging on the couch and bickering over what to watch on TV, and ultimately trudging upstairs one by one as they decided they were tired enough for bed. The only difference was the doppelganger sitting in the back of the room, watching them with a mixture of annoyance, confusion, and something else that wasn’t quite discernable. Every now and then one of them would look back and ask his opinion on something, or inquire if he wanted to come closer, but he always gave either a curt reply or just shook his head, and they didn’t press him further. He seemed to appreciate that in some small way, with his posture slowly uncurling a little as the night went on.

Just a little, but it was a start.

He hadn’t intended to fall asleep, but all it took was daring to sit on the couch for more than a minute after the others had all left, and the bone-deep exhaustion took hold. It was still dark when Jigen flinched back to consciousness, disoriented and wondering where he was until… oh, that’s right. He was still exiled to this strange, incompetent timeline, with no clear way to return.

Taking a moment to struggle free from the fresh wave of despair trying to wash over him, he dragged himself upright and looked around at the dark house. What had woken him? There was no one around, but he could just about glimpse a faint light from down a hallway that hadn’t been on before, and curiosity took over.

Jigen was only a few feet from the doorway when a soft sound began emanating from the room, making him pause. It was music, a single guitar beginning a song that was vaguely familiar, and as the words started he silently approached to listen.

_ Blackbird singing in the dead of night_  
_Take these broken wings and learn to fly_  
_All your life  
_ _You were only waiting for this moment to arise_

It was a library, smaller and more intimate than what his Lupin usually kept, with a small fireplace casting the light he had seen over a stereo and recliner, as well as the lanky figure slumped in the chair. Lupin seemed to be pouring over a notebook of some kind, and though Jigen couldn’t see his face, something about him felt deeply sad.

He almost spoke, but his voice was stuck in his throat. Watching, listening.

_ Blackbird singing in the dead of night_  
_Take these sunken eyes and learn to see_  
_All your life  
_ _You were only waiting for this moment to be free_

Lupin sat up and ran a hand through his short hair, taking a deep, shaky breath. He turned and finally noticed Jigen, still rooted to the spot in the doorway, but there was no surprise or anger on his face as he offered a weak smile. No punishment. 

The thief’s eyes looked wet, but it was impossible to tell if he had actually been crying or not.

_ Blackbird fly, blackbird fly  
_ _Into the light of a dark black night_

Trusting and vulnerable, Lupin just smiled at him. And somehow, in that moment, he felt no dislike towards the thief.

_ All your life  
_ _You were only waiting for this moment to arise_

“Hey Blackbird,” he said softly. “You can’t sleep either, huh?”


	2. Show & Tell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seem to have a habit of saying there "might" be more to a story, and then I get the urge to write something out for it in a matter of a few days. 
> 
> Did somebody order more angst? No? Just me? Well here's some anyway. 
> 
> I may not find a way to slip lyrics into the chapter itself, but by golly I'm gonna stick 'em somewhere, even if it's just the title and before the actual story. I have a whole damn playlist already for this particular 'verse; somebody stop me.

_Hey stranger, wanna know me truly?_   
_Step closer, it's a broken spell_   
_Keep me up, make me feel something_   
_Maybe then I can show and tell_

_ \-- _Said the Sky, "Show & Tell"

* * *

Ishikawa and Mine—or Goemon and Fujiko, as they kept insisting—didn’t seem to know what to call him. After that first night, Lupin had taken to calling him Blackbird, but the others seemed to recognize that as something personal, and mercifully none of them attempted to use the nickname. The other Jigen would sometimes call him Daisuke in a half-teasing manner, but it was clear the other two weren’t comfortable following that lead yet.

It was kind of nice that they were more wary of him than their companions were; the other Jigen was unfazed because they were sort of the same person, and Lupin didn’t seem to be wary about much of anything at all, so having Mine and Ishikawa treat him with a little more caution almost felt… respectful. Even if they did keep correcting him whenever he called them by their family names. 

“Field trip day!” 

Lupin bounded into the kitchen with entirely too much energy for that time of the morning, making Jigen flinch on instinct with his loud exclamation. Only the original Jigen (when had he stopped thinking of him as a fake?) seemed to notice.

“Shut _ up, _ Lupin,” he grumbled, but the thief was oblivious.

“We need to do a shopping run,” Lupin explained, casting a bright look at all four of them in turn. “And… well, the sky hasn’t fallen and there’s no black hole swallowing the Earth, but we should probably double-check that we didn’t break the universe somehow.”

“We sort of _ did; _ wasn’t that the point?” the other Jigen exchanged a look with his double for a moment. 

“You know what I mean! Side effects, we gotta check for side effects.” Lupin stuck out his tongue at his partner.

Mine sighed from where she was leaning on the counter. “I’m not going anywhere until I’ve had coffee, so count me out.”

Lupin pouted, but didn’t argue, and after casting a curious look at Ishikawa that was only met by the samurai closing his eyes, the thief turned back to his Jigen with a grin. It figured the double wasn’t even part of the equation, annoying as it may have been: they weren’t quite stupid enough to take him anywhere he could try to escape yet.

“Why don’t _ I _ get to stay for coffee?!” the other Jigen protested, but Lupin was already pushing him out of his chair and towards the door.

“I’ll buy you some on the way, now c’mon!”

Jigen was so caught up staring at the way Lupin grabbed the original’s hand, he didn’t notice the thief’s attention turning towards him until he was called to, making him jump. “Blackbird, you want anything special? Or should we just get extras of the stuff Jigen likes?”

So far, it seemed that he and the other Jigen had similar tastes in smokes and alcohol, which was no small blessing, but he hadn’t really been paying attention as far as food was concerned. He’d been too busy being suspicious and watching every movement to make sure nothing was being done to it, only eating when he really felt he needed to just in case. What the food actually was… He honestly couldn’t remember. 

His blank stare seemed to be enough of an answer, as Lupin chuckled. “Well if you think of anything, have Fujiko call us, okay?”

And with one more string of curses from this world’s Jigen, Lupin shoved him out the door and they vanished down the hall, soon followed by the sound of the front door opening and closing. Just like that, he was alone with Ishikawa and Mine. 

For her part, Mine seemed perfectly happy to ignore them completely, half slumped over the counter as she shot a hollow stare at the electric kettle. She must have had more to drink last night than what they saw; a fact that Ishikawa seemed to have noticed as well, judging by the small frown that appeared on his face as he watched her.

“Fujiko,” the samurai said slowly, waiting until she dragged herself up to look at him before continuing. “Watching it will not make the water boil faster. You should sit down.”

Mine made a face, but slouched her way into a chair nonetheless, sighing tiredly. Her eyes finally found Jigen, and he tensed. 

“You can sit too, you know,” she remarked, too tired to even try putting sass into her words.

True, there were several unoccupied seats around the table, and Ishikawa was even scooting over a little to make more space between him and the nearest chair, presumably to make himself and Jigen both more comfortable. They were serious. ...Why were they serious?

With the other two, he could kind of understand why they might have some investment in him, but Ishikawa and Mine had no reason to be as interested in humoring him like this, especially with Lupin out of the house. It had been two days and three nights since they brought him here, so surely they must have been getting tired of playing nice.

Maybe they were sizing him up, seeing if his guard was down enough to trust the copies of two of his least-favorite people in the world. To see if he’d been placated into behaving himself.

Instinctively, he wanted to tell them to go fuck themselves, to sulk off somewhere and see if the other Jigen had left any smokes behind; but something stopped the words before they could form.

Something that was being held out to him in a silent offering.

For a split-second, Jigen had the startling thought that Ishikawa was actually carrying cigarettes, but he quickly realized it was an open box of Pocky being pointed his way. A memory flickered across his mind of catching the samurai sneaking Pocky when he thought no one was looking back in his own world, making him hesitate and glance from the box to the increasingly embarrassed face of the man trying to give him some. 

“I am unsure if you have much of a sweet tooth, but...” Ishikawa said after a moment, trailing off sheepishly.

What… What the hell was this? What were the implications of him taking this or not?

Noticing his hesitation, Ishikawa took one of the snacks from the box and started nibbling on it, as if to demonstrate they were safe; and admittedly, he _ had _ been wondering about that, but _ still. _

He waited for the samurai to get frustrated with his indecision, to scoff and pull his hand away from such hesitation… but the seconds ticked by, and Ishikawa did nothing. He remained as he was, arm outstretched in offering, expression unchanging. He was just waiting for an answer, no time limit attached.

It took several attempts to push back his natural paranoia, but slowly Jigen made himself reach out and pull a stick from the box, hand darting back once he had as though expecting someone to try and grab him.

Ishikawa smiled ever-so-slightly and moved to offer the box to Mine next, as though there had been nothing unusual about the way the double had accepted the treat. Jigen watched her take one with an appreciative hum, trying to decide if that was a test he had just passed or failed.

It wasn't until about ten minutes later, after finally getting some coffee in her system, that Mine addressed him again.

"So… I'm glad you haven't tried to attack any of us yet."

Jigen narrowed his eyes while Ishikawa cast a despairing look at her. "What?"

"With how upset you were," she explained, ignoring Ishikawa's stare, "I almost expected we would've had to stop you from stabbing us in our sleep or something by now. I'm glad I was wrong."

"You wanted an excuse, huh?"

Mine sighed. "We aren't out to get you, you know. Even if it seems you and me never get along in any universe."

"Look, you don't haveta pretend you don't hate me, Lupin's not here." Jigen huffed, letting one eye flicker into view as he fixed her with an accusing stare. 

To his (and apparently Ishikawa's) surprise, she just laughed. "I don't hate you. I don't know you enough to hate you."

She met the pair of confused stares and continued, "You might be the same as our Jigen in a lot of ways, but you're still your own separate people. Just because he told us a lot about things that have happened to you--and even then, I'm sure he didn't tell us everything he saw--doesn't mean we really know who you are."

“So you’re trying to tell me you _ want _ to know?” Jigen made no attempt to hide his skepticism.

It wasn’t Mine, but Ishikawa who spoke up to answer. “Is it really so hard to believe? That we want to know you?”

_ Yes. _

He had to bite his tongue to keep from blurting out the answer, bristling against the two pairs of eyes watching him with some emotion he couldn’t identify. It was nothing he’d ever seen on those faces in his own world, making it all the more disconcerting to look at those expressions of… what _ was _ that? Not quite pity, more like… Fuck, it couldn’t be actual _ concern, _ could it? From these two?

The only person who was ever really concerned about him was Lupin, _ his _ Lupin. ...Right?

Jigen shook the thought from his head and scoffed. “If he told you ‘bout the things he saw, then you must know we don’t get along. We hate each other, all three of us.”

“So even though you’re different from our Jigen, you just assume we’re the same as the versions you knew?” Mine gestured with her coffee mug as she spoke, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I do not wish to be compared to that man,” Ishikawa said with startling resentment.

Mine reached across the table to place her hand on the samurai’s in a comforting gesture, and Jigen found himself wondering what memories they had heard about to make Ishikawa so tense. He certainly had no shortage of bad experiences with his version of the samurai, so it could have been just about anything.

He still didn’t know how to feel about them knowing his memories like that. When he’d had dreams of this timeline, he hadn’t told anyone for fear that they’d think he was crazy--hell, _ he’d _ thought he was crazy for seeing those things--but here it seemed like they’d been told about every experience the other Jigen had through his eyes. They didn’t act like they found it annoying, either; like they really did believe the stories and were only upset by the behavior of their alternate selves.

“I know we look the same, and have some qualities in common with the… other versions of us,” Mine said after a minute, looking up with a softer expression than he’d ever seen on her before. “But maybe we can all get past that, okay? At least so we can figure out what to think of each other without _ too _ much bias.”

Jigen just stared at her for a minute. “Why… do you _ care?” _ He winced a little at how weak and uncertain his voice sounded.

“Because it matters to us how you feel.”

* * *

He hadn’t been able to take any more of that conversation, using every ounce of willpower he had to leave the room at a normal walk rather than fleeing in an emotionally confused panic. It wasn’t until he was several halls and doors away that Jigen managed to rein himself in, leaning his back against a wall and catching his breath as though he had been sprinting, his entire body tensed like a coiled spring.

That was too much. Even though they weren’t chasing him, their words kept rattling down to his bones, clinging like a chill he couldn’t shake off. 

_ “We aren’t out to get you… Is it really so hard to believe… Maybe we can all get past that…” _

_ “Because it matters to us how you feel.” _

Jigen slammed the back of his head against the wall, face in his hands as he tried to block out the words. If he kept thinking about this, he really _ would _ go crazy. Maybe there was still booze in the house somewhere; it didn’t even have to be good booze, just something to make his mind shut up for a while. Just to last until Lupin and the original got back.

Finally opening his eyes, the double blinked as he realized where he had ended up in his blind escape from the kitchen: Lupin’s library. It felt almost dormant with no fire in the fireplace and no thief in the chair, but one thing was still in place that made him freeze in the doorway just as he had that first night.

The notebook was sitting on the recliner; the same notebook Lupin had been reading with such sorrow and pain.

A momentary fear clutched Jigen’s heart halfway through reaching for the book. Never touch Lupin’s things without permission; never do anything that might displease him. Don’t risk it…

But this wasn’t his Lupin. This was the man who dressed in too-bright colors, with the cheeky grin that lit up a room. Would it really hurt to find out what could have made a man like that so sad?

Jigen could swear his heart stopped for a moment the second he started reading. The notebook was _ him. _ Lupin had written down every dream, every nightmare the other Jigen had about his life back home, along with personal notes about how different parts had been especially difficult for his partner to talk about. Things that had been normal parts of life in the criminal underworld were framed here as something awful; his Lupin described as almost inhuman for dealing out suitable punishments for failure. 

They _ were _ normal, weren’t they? At least Lupin never broke any of his people, never risked ruining their talents--plenty of gangs were so much worse than that.

He paused on one page in particular. A description of an especially messy screw-up and the punishment Lupin had dealt him grew harder to read as the other Lupin’s handwriting started to shake, and farther down the page the word _‘why’ _ was scribbled over and over in the margins.

This… this really bothered the thief. 

And somehow, it was becoming harder for Jigen to call him weak for it.


	3. So Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyyyyyy it's here again! I have another fic I should be working on, but this whole concept is still eating my brain, so back into bizarre multiverse land we go!
> 
> I'm astonished this has gotten to over 100 hits, since it was just meant as a little gift/experimental ramble to start with, but I'm sure not complaining if you guys enjoy it! This whole thing is kinda rambling and not sticking with too much of a storyline, but who knows if that'll continue to be the case, considering how easy it is for me to delve way too deep into a concept once I fall in love with it.

_Gonna disconnect from the hardwire_   
_Time to raise a flag for the ceasefire_   
_Staring down the hole inside me_   
_Looking in the mirror_   
_Making peace with the enemy_

\-- Goo Goo Dolls, "So Alive"

* * *

The progress was slow, but noticeable. Blackbird still kept to the side rather than sitting with the group, but he was starting to answer more often when spoken to, and with a little less hostility. He still flinched whenever someone entered the room, but didn’t always glare at them anymore. Small things that were slowly adding up.

Lupin found it easier and easier to notice the differences between the two versions of Jigen as the days passed. Blackbird was a little less scruffy, held himself with a bit more presence, and carried an extra feeling of weariness in his every move. They both struggled under heavy burdens of the past, but Blackbird’s was still digging claws into his back, still whispering poison in his ear. He hadn’t gotten the same comfort and healing from loved ones that their Jigen had; the only ‘love’ he’d gotten from the other Lupin made things worse.

The… other Lupin. The one he wasn't like at all, except for how he looked and his level of intelligence. He _ couldn't _be like that. He would never be like that.

That was why that look hurt so much.

It was a stupid argument, Lupin and Jigen bickering about whether it was worth the risk of stealing jewelry from gangsters just as a gift for Fujiko, because she had mentioned seeing and loving it while undercover. Organized crime and Fujiko were two subjects that often caused them to raise their voices at each other, so with the two together, it was no wonder things escalated.

"It's not worth it!" Jigen leaned forward to level a dark glare at Lupin. "If you wanna knock over a normal jewelry store, I'll help out, but I'm not sticking my neck out pissing off the mob just so you can get laid!"

"It's not just so I can get laid! Don't you care about making a lady happy?" The thief met his stare with one just as intense.

Jigen almost laughed, but it came out as more of a snarl. "She's not a _ lady." _

"God, you're such a child!"

"Look who's talking!"

Lupin threw up his hands in frustration. "Fine! If you won't do it, I'll just take Goemon instead!"

It wasn't until after the words left his mouth in an angry yell that he noticed the shadow in the doorway.

"Hey, what do you think of--" Lupin's voice died as soon as he turned and saw the look on the double's face.

He was… _ afraid. _ Naked shock and fear were looking back at the thief, seeing someone else with his face and his voice shouting at Jigen, arms raised in anger.

Lupin exchanged a glance with his partner, who seemed to have made the same horrified realization as him, and they both tried to make their posture non-threatening. "Hey, it's okay. We're done yelling, all right?"

Either Blackbird couldn't hear him, or the words didn't register. The double's hands shook as he seemed to brace himself for an attack, but finally the tension snapped, sending him tearing out of the room as though the hounds of hell were on his heels.

Lupin started to run after him, but he only got one step before Jigen seized his arm to hold him back. 

"No, Lupin! if you chase after him now, it'll make things worse!"

He was right. Seeing Lupin, _any_ Lupin, would only cause more harm; the thief couldn't be the one to fix this.

_ "Fuck!" _ he hissed, dropping onto the couch and gripping his hair with both hands in frustration. "I hate that it's _ me _ that causes this shit! Maybe I should just wear a mask all the time, give him some peace."

"Don't be stupid. It's not your fault there's another you who sucks." Even with his head down, Lupin could feel the couch shift as Jigen sat next to him.

The thief was quiet for a moment before quietly admitting, "I just… the idea that I _ could _ be like that is…" He couldn't finish, but he didn't need to.

"I mean, there's probably a world where _ I'm _ a crazy asshole like that who's fucked _ you _ up instead. There's a timeline for everything, right?"

Lupin groaned. "Don't make me think about that."

A hand came to rest on the thief's shoulder. "You gonna be okay if I go after him?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. Go on." 

He looked up to meet his partner's searching stare and managed a smile, which seemed to be enough of a confirmation.

* * *

Tracking the double down wasn't too hard, it was just a matter of thinking about where he would go when panicking. They were similar enough that Jigen's first guess was right on the money, finding his doppelganger sitting on the back porch steps with his face in his hands, and the slow rise and fall of his shoulders seemed to signal he was at least a little calmer.

"You know where you are?" Jigen asked, making sure his footsteps were loud enough to be noticed first. Might as well skip right to the point in a moment like this.

His double didn't speak, but nodded.

There was still no reaction when Jigen sat down on the other end of the step, so he let the silence linger a while longer, taking his time fishing for a cigarette and his lighter. It wasn’t until smoke was drifting into the air that the doppelganger lifted his head, staring ahead into space.

“...You’re not supposed to have flashbacks and panic attacks thinking ‘bout the person you love, huh?” It was clearly difficult for him to say, voice strained and quiet.

Jigen paused a moment. “I’m no shrink, but… it does seem like a bad sign, yeah.”

The double didn’t answer, gaze falling to his hands. He only stirred again when something moved in his peripheral vision: a pack of cigarettes being held out in an unknowing recreation of Goemon’s Pocky from days ago, making him blink in surprise.

Maybe it was the fact that it was smokes being offered, or the fact that the person offering them was the one who could understand him the best, or maybe even that time and gentle treatment were slowly eroding his natural hostility. Whatever the reason, the second marksman hesitated only a moment before accepting. 

They sat there in silence for another minute, each mulling things over and absently watching the sky. Jigen started to notice his doppelganger’s posture getting more and more tense, until he suddenly realized the double’s hands were shaking as he gripped his knees, with what was visible of his expression twisted in frustration and anger. Something was definitely coming to the surface.

Sure enough, it was only a few more seconds until he snarled out a cloud of smoke and spoke again. 

“How’s the best thing that ever happened to me still fucking _ wrong?! _ He can’t have been…”

“Better don’t mean _ good.” _

The double’s jaw tightened. “It was only ever when I fucked up, anyway. When I did something to deserve it.”

“You really still believe that?” Jigen glanced sidelong at him with a serious expression.

Silence.

“You don’t gotta rationalize it, y’know,” Jigen continued when his doppelganger didn’t answer. “He did some real shitty stuff to you, but that doesn’t make you some damsel in distress.”

“Why’d you _ ‘rescue’ _ me, then?” the double scoffed, taking another drag of his cigarette.

“We all agreed you deserved better.”

That made him pause. For a moment, he seemed to struggle with something before abandoning the thought and shaking his head. “You’re all fucking crazy, then.”

“You’ve been looking through my eyes more ‘n long enough to know that already,” Jigen remarked with a strange sort of pride. 

The only response for a minute was an absentminded hum, as the double’s mind seemed to stray somewhere else. Jigen didn’t push him; if there was one thing he was good at, it was waiting. 

Finally the copy heaved a sigh. “I really don’t want you to be right. My life would be a lot easier if you’d just let me keep hating you, instead of...” He trailed off as he seemed to realize just what he was admitting to.

“Sorry, we still ain’t sick of you. I dunno how the others can stand having two of me around, but I’m not gonna question ‘em about it.”

“How can _ you _stand it?” The doppelganger’s dark eyes flashed at him, accusing and taking cover behind the safety of anger.

“Well…” the gunman paused to think about the question, perfectly calm as though there was no hostility at all in the words. “Not gonna lie, when we first planned to go over there and get you, I was thinking I’d hate your guts.”

“Wait, you planned on taking me from the start?”

“You didn’t know that?”

The double shook his head, apparently too stunned by the revelation to answer with words.

“It’s like I said, we agreed you deserved better,” Jigen shrugged nonchalantly. “But I did think you’d drive me freakin’ crazy, with you being a version of me who’s somehow even more of a murderous asshole than I am.”

“And you don’t feel that way now?” the doppelganger asked skeptically.

“I’m not really sure why, but… I honestly can’t tell if I like you or not, but I know I don’t hate you.”

The copy answered with a hum, still studying Jigen’s face like he was trying to see right through into his mind.

Somehow, it made him strangely self-conscious, and he looked away. “It sounds pretty stupid now that I say it out loud.”

“No stupider than anything else you people do,” his double answered with what Jigen could swear was almost a smile.

He snorted, but made no attempt to restrain his own smirk. “Yeah yeah, fuck you too.”

* * *

Once they both finished their cigarettes, the other Jigen loped back inside, leaving his double with a second smoke and a million confusing feelings.

He wasn’t left alone to stew in them for long, however. Blackbird’s attention snapped back to the present, instincts making his entire body tense in preparation to move as he heard the door open behind him, hand twitching towards a gun that wasn’t there. 

“Hey, you still need some space, or is it okay for me to be here?”

It was Lupin’s voice, with that distinct lack of polish that distinguished him from the other Lupin.

Wait… Other Lupin? A chill gripped his heart as he suddenly recognized the automatic title his brain had attached to the man who he should have still thought of as _ his _ Lupin, the _ real _ Lupin. He couldn’t possibly be taking the buffoon with the open heart and lack of caution more seriously than his own boss, could he? That was practically sacrilege, wasn’t it?

“Blackbird?” 

He flinched, Lupin’s hesitant voice making him realize he had been silent for too long.

“It’s… fine. Do what you want.” Brilliant response, dumbass.

The thief’s footsteps creaked across the porch towards him, but stopped at the top of the steps at an angle that allowed him to see Lupin out of the corner of his eye.

“I guess I shouldn’t ask if you’re okay,” Lupin sighed as he gazed out at the horizon. 

Jigen just shrugged.

Lupin didn’t answer, but he could feel the thief’s eyes on him as the silence lingered on. Just… watching. It was something his Lupin would do as well, but the feeling of it was very different. His boss would size up every move you made, picking you apart with his eyes and laying you bare without a word, while this Lupin… This Lupin felt more like he was just waiting, letting him choose whether or not to speak without pressuring one way or another, just reassuring him of his presence. 

Sure enough, when Jigen finally looked up, he was immediately struck by the patient, sad expression on the thief’s face. It was somehow intimidating in just how open it was.

Eventually he couldn’t take it anymore, and finally broke the silence. “Why’re you looking at me like that?” 

Lupin hesitated, actually looking _ embarrassed. _ How was it possible for him to even make that face?

“I… Well, if you want a really honest answer, I wanna hug you.”

Blackbird gaped at him. “You… _ what? _ Why?!”

“You really look like you need one,” Lupin remarked with a shrug. “Our Jigen can get real touch-starved, even if he never admits it, and I realized you haven’t really touched anybody since you got here. Uh, not counting when Jigen had you pinned on the lawn when we first crossed back over.”

He kept staring as though the thief had sprouted a second head. 

“I’m not actually expecting anything!” Lupin insisted, noticing his obvious shock and trying to ease some of the awkward tension as he held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I know I’m pretty handsy, but I’m not about to just waltz up and hold you when you don’t want it.”

Did he really not want it, though? There was a strange pang in his chest at the mere suggestion of physical contact, of some kind of affection after days and days of holding himself in a state of almost constant hyper-awareness. He didn’t need it from these people, he should be insulted that Lupin would even think about it, but that stupid ache…

The surprise and concern on the thief’s face made him suddenly aware that his indecision and hurt was showing in his own expression, and he cursed internally as he quickly pulled himself back together as best he could, looking away with a scowl.

“If you ever do need anything,” Lupin spoke up with that softness that only made the stupid ache worse. “You know you can just ask, okay? I won’t even tell the others if you don’t want me to.”

Jigen glanced up just in time to catch a conspiratorial wink from Lupin that he had to look away from again immediately. 

“I’m not the same as the other me, y’know. Don’t act like I’m just an extra who wants all the same things he does.” The feeling in his chest dulled a bit as he fell back on the harshness he knew best.

To his surprise however, Lupin just chuckled. “I know _ that. _There’s stuff I like that you both have in common, but there are also different things about each of you that are just as good.”

“Bullshit.”

“Oh yeah? You want me to list ‘em off? ‘Cause I’ll do it, I’m not even kidding.” The thief’s smile was somehow both infuriating and endearing at the same time.

“Don’t,” Blackbird grumbled with a scowl.

Lupin flashed a shit-eating grin, but mercifully he let the subject go for the moment. “Look, I know I might be the last person who should try to comfort you on anything, since I… look like _ him, _ but eventually I really do want you to be able to feel safe here. I don’t care how many shitty things you’ve done, I still think you deserve the chance.”

The double said nothing, but the deeply conflicted look on his face showed he was listening, staring at the ground for what felt like forever as Lupin tried and failed to avoid watching him. 

When he eventually did speak, he still didn’t look at the thief. 

“You gonna sit or what?”

Abrasive and indirect it may have been, but Lupin’s face lit up immediately at the words, even as Jigen continued staring determinedly ahead. Fortunately, the thief kept his mouth shut for once as he hopped down to the step the double was on and took a seat as though the wooden stair was a goddamn throne. He was a bit closer than the other Jigen had been, but still kept about a foot and a half of space between them, sighing contentedly and looking up as a breeze rolled by. 

“Nice day, huh?”

Blackbird shot him a withering sidelong glance. “Don’t try to make smalltalk.”

“Yeah okay, fair enough.”


	4. The Burning Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this one... this one kinda runs the emotional gambit here, which is why it's a bit longer than the others. I was worried that this might be too soon for certain emotional things that occur below, but it feels right somehow, so here it goes.
> 
> Also what the heck guys, almost 200 hits on this? Really? I am astonished and flattered~

_And my heart is nearly gone_   
_There's not much left to offer_   
_If I could somehow know_   
_I could stop the burning down_

\-- King's X, "The Burning Down"

* * *

“What am I doing here?”

Goemon paused and opened his eyes to answer. "We felt it would be best to bring you.”

“You mean you guys didn’t wanna leave me home without a babysitter,” Jigen grumbled.

“Mostly I believe Lupin wants you to see this.”

The double’s scowl deepened. He was lounging awkwardly across the backseat of Lupin’s tiny yellow Fiat, talking through the open sunroof to the samurai sitting above. They had been waiting there in uncomfortable silence for what felt like an eternity, while the other three performed the actual heist they were there for, with no contact so far to let them know what was going on.

“Oh yeah, I’m seeing a whole lot,” he remarked sarcastically. “Besides, I saw enough of your fuck-ups through the damn dreams. Why would I need to be here for this?”

Goemon was unfazed by the insult slipped into the complaint. “Vivid as the visions may have been, being here in person may prove to be a different experience.”

Blackbird scoffed, but didn’t answer with words, letting another cloud of smoke drift up through the sunroof. Different as they were, talking to Goemon could be just as aggravating as talking to Ishikawa back home.

Before he could be annoyed any further, a loud ringing started from the nearby mansion, making them both tense and start peering for any sign of the others. 

They didn't have long to wait. A flash of red hair and black leather popped over the high stone wall they were parked beside, and Fujiko landed in a roll between the Fiat and her motorcycle, looking quite pleased with herself.

"You were successful?" Goemon asked.

"Well of course," Fujiko shot him a wink and held up a case used to transport paintings. "The boys should be along in a minute, I think. I'm gonna head out though."

"And you didn't fuck them over so you can get away with all the loot?" As much as he liked to think he didn't care, Jigen couldn't resist the suspicion, and the look on Goemon's face suggested he wanted confirmation as well.

Fujiko huffed as though insulted by the suggestion. _ "No, _I didn't fuck them over this time. I got what I was after, and if they didn't screw anything up they should have what Lupin wanted. We split up after we got inside, so I don't know what they're doing."

Goemon seemed to accept that answer, nodding and turning his gaze back towards the mansion. Blackbird just grumbled something skeptical and unintelligible.

Unfazed, Fujiko started strapping the case onto her bike. "My buyer lives a bit out of the way, and I have another little job lined up once I drop it off, so tell Lupin I won't be back for another week or so."

Goemon nodded again.

“Oh, and Goemon? One more thing.”

She motioned for the samurai to lean down as she strolled up to the Fiat. He looked confused, but obeyed, and was rewarded with a quick kiss that shattered his usual stoicism with a start--the look of embarrassed shock on his face was so ridiculous, Jigen had to snicker.

“See you later,” Fujiko purred, patting the samurai’s cheek when he proved to be incapable of words.

She flashed a wave at the doppelganger, who responded with an annoyed huff, and with one last toss of her hair Fujiko leapt onto her bike, quickly revving up and disappearing down the road.

Goemon was still staring after her like a dog watching its master drive away, until Blackbird sat up and snapped his fingers to get the samurai’s attention. “Hey, keep it in your sheet, man. You can get horny at Lupin or the other me later, when we’re _ not _in danger of getting shot.”

Before Goemon could be properly offended, the sound of gunshots and shattering glass from the direction of the mansion interrupted them, right on cue to keep them from getting into an argument. Moments later, two gangly figures vaulted over the wall about thirty feet away, followed by more gunfire as they hit the ground running towards the Fiat. 

Lupin looked entirely too excited for someone being pursued by armed thugs, but honestly that wasn’t very surprising anymore. Goemon stood up on the roof of the car as they approached, and as Lupin stumbled to a halt to throw open the driver’s side door, the samurai’s blade flashed, cutting any incoming bullets out of the air. The double still hated that goddamn superpower of his.

“Oh, they are _ mad!” _ Lupin cackled as he hopped in and slammed his door.

The original Jigen scoffed as he slid across the hood to leap into the passenger’s seat. “Yeah, that’ll happen when you steal their shit and step on their boss’ face!”

“It was worth it!”

“So you got it or what?” Blackbird spoke up, pulling his legs in and sitting upright.

Lupin flashed him such an exhilarated grin he was momentarily stunned by the sight of it. “Well of _ course! _ Have a little faith!”

He caught sight of another case as the original slipped it down by his feet, but his attention was soon drawn to something else the other Jigen was handing back to him, and his heart almost stopped.

“Here, you might need this. Shit could get ugly before we’re clear,” the marksman said, and in his hand was Blackbird’s revolver.

He was speechless, eyes flickering from the gun to the other Jigen’s face and back again several times. Was this a joke? He was seriously just being handed his gun back? In the middle of a chaotic situation that he could easily turn to his advantage?

“Just take it, c’mon!”

He flinched back to life and snatched the weapon from the gunman’s hand, and just holding its weight again immediately lifted a choking thread of tension from his body he hadn’t even been aware of.

“And before you ask, yeah it’s loaded,” the original remarked as Lupin reversed the car and Goemon knelt down on the roof for better balance.

It was loaded… Six shots, enough to double tap each of them if he was quick enough… He could just…

The scream of tires violently threw his train of thought from its destructive tracks, making him blink as the Fiat started tearing down the street. Now wasn’t the time to think like that; he couldn’t just act on impulse.

That's right, it was just a matter of planning. Nothing to do with whether or not he still _ wanted _ to kill these people. That would just be pathetic. Never mind that the first week had come and gone with no mention of him taking up the original's offer to let him leave, or in the second week for that matter.

He wasn't getting _ attached _ to these idiots. ...Right?

Well, at least now he had violence as a release for the anxiety. The double couldn't help but smirk as he emerged from the sunroof, taking in the startled looks from their pursuers as they saw both him and the other Jigen leaning out the front window. They didn't have long to be confused however, as two shots took down the drivers of the first couple cars, crumpled at the wheel with a bullet through the head.

Damn, he felt so much better already.

Pointedly ignoring any looks from Goemon beside him, Blackbird repeated the process with another two cars, and between that and the pursuers who had their vehicles taken out by Jigen, the road was effectively blocked with crashed cars. He was almost disappointed that the chase was over so quickly.

* * *

The noontime sun saw them well across the border into France, crossing through one of those quaint little countryside towns that were so cute it was sickening. It was the kind of place he would be more than happy to see the back of, so of course Lupin decided to stop, his eyes locked on a little bakery nearby.

“Really?” Jigen asked with a despairing frown, seeming to echo his double’s feelings.

“Yes really. We all need to stretch our legs, anyway.”

Despite any sighs or rolled eyes, they all climbed out of the Fiat and followed Lupin towards the bakery, milling around out front while the thief headed inside.

Blackbird’s eyes flickered to Jigen as the marksman started rummaging for a cigarette. “Hey, gimme one of those."

“No way you ran out _ already,” _he shot his double a sharp look.

“You don’t get to judge me on this. Just give me one.”

"You both smoke too much," Goemon remarked.

**"Shut up."**

They all jumped a little, not expecting Jigen and Blackbird to answer in perfect unison like that, the pair of them exchanging a startled look as Goemon gave the tiniest huff of laughter.

Luckily for the samurai, any fuss they might have made was thrown out the window before it could form, as a small voice spoke from the direction of the bakery door. 

“Um, excuse me?”

A little girl was standing there, her big blue eyes staring up at Jigen and his double with barely-contained excitement. “Are you twins, mister?”

The pair of them looked at each other in surprise. Somehow they hadn’t thought about the implications of being in public while looking exactly the same, but the girl had supplied the perfect explanation already. Jigen looked back to her and simply nodded.

The girl bounced on the balls of her feet, her face lighting up. “‘Cause… ‘cause we’re twins too!”

She stepped to one side, and a second girl hesitantly shuffled from behind the door frame. Sure enough, aside from their clothes the two children were completely identical, right down to the wonderstruck look on their faces.

“We’ve never met other twins before!” the first child explained. “Where are you from?”

“Are you on vacation?” the second one chimed in, before she seemed to notice Goemon. “Is that a real sword, mister?”

Mercifully, a man emerged from the bakery at that moment, brushing flour off his hands onto the apron he was wearing. 

“Girls, don’t bother them.”

“But papa!” the kids turned identical pouts on him. “They’re _ twins!” _

Their father was unfazed. “Go on, go play out back, okay?”

With a sighed “fiiiiiine” from both girls, they gave one last wave before disappearing inside, the baker watching them with a fond shake of his head.

“I’m sorry if they bothered you. They mean well, but can get a little over-excited with strangers.”

“It was fine, they--” 

When Jigen cut himself off mid-sentence, Blackbird looked up in confusion. He glanced from the stunned look on the original’s face to the baker, and the second he laid eyes on the man he momentarily forgot how to breathe.

He’d never bothered to learn the man’s name. He was just another of the boss’ bodyguards, albeit one who had lasted longer than most, and that just made him a potential threat down the line. Still nobody to learn more about. Henri? Henrique? Something like that. Just another generic guard, now standing here as a baker and father of two.

Funny, he’d never thought about just how many lives were influenced by the differences in Lupin between the two timelines. He’d only ever paid attention to the four of them at the heart of the situation, and hadn’t spared a thought for the countless faceless goons who weren’t a part of the master thief’s syndicate in this world. Why would he? He’d always viewed them as little more than suits and meat, rather than people who were capable of living completely different lives if the situation was changed.

To be hit in the face by the thought was… unsettling.

Jigen snapped back to life first, shaking his head a little as he dissuaded the baker’s obvious concern. “Ah, sorry. For a second there you looked like someone we used to know, right?” 

Blackbird met his expectant gaze and nodded.

That seemed to be enough of an explanation for the baker, whose concerned expression evaporated with a smile just as Lupin finally emerged from the doorway, arms full of paper bags.

“Okay, who wants to guide me to the car? I can’t see where I’m going.”

* * *

It wasn’t until they had left the town behind, divvying out bags of baked goods and bickering about what to save for later, that he realized his mistake. 

They had been relaxed, standing around in an unfamiliar town… He could have run. Gotten away from these incompetent idiots and started looking for a way home, even if he had no idea where to start. 

Or… he could have killed them. Dropped Goemon first before he could draw his sword, then the other him, and finally shot Lupin through the doorway. The boss would surely be happy with him if he killed them, right? That’s what he _ should _ have done, wasn’t it? 

Somehow, the thought made him feel sick to his stomach, which was only more frightening. It had been _ years _ since he felt any kind of hesitation about killing anyone who was so clearly an enemy, but after a matter of weeks he was realizing he wasn’t sure he could have actually pulled the trigger on any of them. 

And what use was he if he went soft? 

He still didn’t understand why this version of Lupin was so determined to keep him; today had been the first time he’d so much as held a gun since being brought to this timeline, and there were no signs that they wanted to use him as a weapon. They kept insisting he wasn’t a pet, and even though he still had his doubts, it was getting harder to think they were lying. They acted as though they genuinely liked having him around for some reason.

But he had only ever been valued for his ability to kill; even the other Lupin wouldn’t have kept him if he couldn’t shoot a target. Hell knew, he’d been punished for that kind of mistake more than enough times to be sure of it. 

So then… what the fuck was the _ point _ of him?

Unsurprisingly, Lupin was the first to notice his discomfort. The new safehouse was a lot smaller than the last one (“cozy” Lupin had called it), so it was harder to find places to retreat and be closed off from the others, which meant it was harder to hide from that hyper-observant gaze. That gaze that kept getting more and more concerned every time he noticed the thief looking at him. As soon as the other two left the house on some errand, it was only a matter of time.

“Hey.” 

Lupin had found him leaning against a large open window in the living room, half-finished glass of whiskey in hand as he cast a hollow stare out into the night. He gave a vague grunt of acknowledgement, granting the thief permission to come closer, and Lupin sidled up to the other end of the window with a cigarette in hand. 

“Seems like your mood tanked this afternoon,” the thief remarked, wasting no time in getting right to the point. “Did something happen?”

“No. Just… thinking.”

Those eyes, so familiar and yet so strange, turned to study his expression. “About what?”

Blackbird was silent for a minute.

“...Lupin, why am I still here?”

The thief blinked in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“You said you brought me here to get me away from… the other Lupin, but that don’t mean you had to keep me with you. So why am I still here?”

Lupin frowned, the faintest flicker of hurt appearing on his face. “We’re not _ keeping _ you anywhere. We didn’t want anything to happen to you when being here was still such a shock, but nobody’s making you stay if you don’t want to.”

Those words stung in a way he hadn’t expected them to, and it must have showed in his expression, judging by the way the thief quickly continued talking.

“Don’t get me wrong, we _ like _ having you stay, and no one’s gonna make you leave, either. I don’t want you to think you’re being pressured one way or the other.”

“...I don’t understand.” Jigen hated how much his voice wavered.

“Understand what?”

He finally turned, casting such a desperate, searching look at the thief that Lupin actually flinched. “If you’re not gonna use me, then why am I _ here?!” _

Lupin looked like the question had physically struck him. He was speechless for a moment, just studying the double’s helpless expression and taking a slow drag of his cigarette.

“There’s more to you than being useful, y’know.”

Fuck. Jigen had to look away again, draining the rest of his drink and trying to pretend he wasn’t on the receiving end of such bizarre treatment. “...No there isn’t.”

“Sure there is,” Lupin insisted. “There’s the way you keep getting closer to us, even though it’s scary. There’s the extra bite your sense of humor has that Jigen can’t even match. And the way you see through everybody’s bullshit and call them on it.”

_ “Stop.” _

“Why? Because the other me never valued you as a person?” The thief’s expression was intense now; upset and frustrated and pleading all at once. 

_ “Nobody _ does!” he snapped. “You keep saying I deserve it, but _ why?! _ I’m not the kind of person people give a shit about! He was the only one who ever did!”

“_We _ do! _ I _ do!”

_ “SHUT UP!” _

The glass shattered as Blackbird threw it to the side, stepping forward and grabbing Lupin by the front of his jacket to shake him.

“Why… Why are you doing this?” He couldn’t look the thief in the eye anymore, but didn’t loosen his grip even as he hung his head, posture tense and breathing ragged.

He could still feel Lupin looking at him. “Everybody needs someone to point out what’s good about them.”

Maybe it was the alcohol, or the fact that the words were being spoken in such a familiar voice, or… maybe he was just so tired of being angry and lonely all the time.

The ice in his chest cracked, and he realized he had subconsciously pulled Lupin close enough to feel the thief’s body heat. He was shaking from the effort of holding himself together.

“...Can I?”

Jigen’s eyes flicked to the side, figuring out what Lupin meant when he saw the thief’s arms held out. He was still taking the time to ask, even now.

_ “Please.” _

There was something so fundamentally different about this Lupin’s embrace, as though the thief was just as desperate to give affection as Blackbird was to get it. Clinging, trying to cover his entire back at once with just two hands and a dream; it was very… fitting for Lupin, somehow. Of course, that just made him fall apart even faster.

He was resisting the second he felt his eyes start to prickle, but he may as well have been trying to stop a hurricane for all the good it did. God, when was the last time he’d actually _ cried _ about something? Years? A decade? He wasn’t even sure what the tears were _ for, _ but maybe it didn’t really matter. They were for nothing and everything at the same time. 

Just… feeling.

Blackbird suddenly became aware of a second voice sniffling between his own wracking sobs, urging him to struggle for the power of speech again. “Th…the fuck a-are _ you _ cryin’ f...for?”

Lupin made a noise that was halfway between a laugh and a whimper. “Call... call me sentimental.”

A mess of tears and broken emotions, somehow he actually smiled against the thief’s shoulder.

“Dumbass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't know where I'm going with this. Do I want our little double to eventually leave and find someone unrelated to anything? Am I shipping the OT4 into a bizarre OT5? I have no idea, so let me know what you guys think.


	5. Getting Along

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for something completely different. Between the amazing previews for the new Lupin movie, and the fuzzies of having a good friend who has a bad family over for Thanksgiving, all I seemed capable of writing here was goofy fluff. It's funny, going through my playlist of songs for this story and having all emotional songs... then there's this one just hanging out. And heck, there may be even more fluff to come, but I promise to give more emotional turmoil down the line; I've already made evil plans to that end.
> 
> Once again, I'm flattered people enjoy this still, and I'll keep trucking with it for the foreseeable future. Doppelganger Jigen is sitting in my brain like a cat that wants your attention, so they just lie there batting your leg every time you walk by. 
> 
> Also I had to edit the character tags for the fic because guess who's heeeeeeere!

_So believe me, I'm gonna close that door  
'Cause why get less when you can get more_

_I'm_ _getting along  
'Cause there ain't nothing to it  
There ain't nothing to it  
So come on_

\-- Royal Republic, "Getting Along"

* * *

Zenigata was… about what he expected. Deceptively competent, sure, but that just made him even more of a pain. And despite his obsession with Lupin, the inspector was still infuriatingly pleased about catching anyone who worked with the thief, too, which meant this was going to be a goddamn nightmare.

Eyes narrowed and arms folded across his chest, Zenigata wasn't even trying to hide his smirk as he looked between the two criminals sitting cuffed in front of him. He was studying each of them carefully, and for good reason -- after all, they did look exactly alike.

"...Neither of you are Lupin," the inspector said after a minute, more of a statement than a question. Not bad, he knew how Lupin moved in disguise well enough to figure that out fairly quickly. "So which of you is actually Jigen?"

"Would you believe me if I said we both are?" The one on the left asked. 

Zenigata scowled. "Don't get cute."

Probably because of his remark, the officer moved to the Jigen who had spoken first, leaning down to start poking and tugging at his face, checking for any disguise.

"Pops, _ ow! _It's really me, knock it off!"

Zenigata hummed thoughtfully, apparently satisfied, and his gaze moved to the other Jigen, who immediately bristled as the first criminal grimaced.

"Uh, Pops, I wouldn't--"

His warning was cut off by Zenigata yelping in pain as the second Jigen's teeth clamped down on his hand the instant he got too close.

"Yeah, he bites," the first gunman remarked.

"Try it again and you lose fingers," the second warned, one eye flickering into view for a moment.

Nursing his hand, Zenigata scowled. "Well it doesn't matter anyway. Neither of you will tell me where Lupin went, will you?"

They both shook their heads in unison.

"Didn't think so," the inspector grumbled. "Well there'll be plenty of time to work out who's who down at the station."

The first Jigen smirked. "Oh yeah? And how're you gonna take us there?"

Zenigata's expression dropped into stunned confusion, before he whipped around and actually took in their surroundings. He had cornered the two Jigens in a storage closet, the door to which was now closed behind him. Closed and locked.

_ "SON OF A…!" _

"Sorry Pops, you got played again." The first Jigen flashed him a wry grin.

The second one wasn't so amused. "Why'd _ we _ have to be the bait," he grumbled.

"I bet Lupin just wanted to introduce you to the old man."

"Lucky fucking me."

"Both of you be quiet!" Zenigata snapped between attempts to ram the door down.

"Or what? You'll double arrest us?" The first marksman questioned, smirk firmly in place. "Just relax, Pops. Lupin barricaded the door behind you, but he'll come back once he's emptied the safe."

That only encouraged the inspector to attempt to climb up to the air vent in the ceiling, but all he accomplished was knocking over a set of shelves and making his prisoners scurry out of the way, squeezing against the wall and each other to avoid the falling objects -- objects that included the inspector himself.

Zenigata lay in silence among the clutter and cleaning supplies for a minute, glowering up at the ceiling as though he could see Lupin's face there. "...Damn."

"Don't suppose you'll take these cuffs off us now, huh?" The more talkative of the Jigens asked.

"Not a chance."

The second gunslinger groaned and slumped against the wall, which drew Zenigata's attention to him again. "Okay, so who _ are _ you?"

Jigen snorted. "I'm just who I look like."

"Ha ha, very funny. You're not Goemon or Fujiko either, so then you're somebody new…"

"Wanna play twenty questions to guess who he is?" The first Jigen remarked with a sarcastic smirk.

Zenigata scoffed angrily and turned away, arms folded across his chest and fingers drumming on his arm in annoyance. They sat there in awkward silence for a minute, as the inspector kept stewing and the criminals tried to relax in the cramped mess, wishing they could reach their phones to get an update on the heist.

Finally Zenigata broke the silence, shooting a piercing look at the second Jigen. "Are you some other criminal hiding out with Lupin?"

"Wait, are we actually playing twenty questions?"

The first marksman shrugged. "I mean, we could. It's something to do, and y'know, I'm kinda curious to see if he'll actually guess who you are."

"Ugh," the double sighed. "Fine, what was the question? Am I hiding out with Lupin? ...Yes."

"Do you have your own criminal file with your true identity?" Zenigata squinted at him.

The two Jigens exchanged a thoughtful look, as though silently conferring before the second one answered. "No."

"Is this your first crime?"

The gunman actually laughed at that one. "No, not even close."

"Has anything been done to alter your appearance?"

"No."

"Are you speaking in your normal voice?"

"Yes."

Zenigata's eyes flickered between the two half-hidden faces for a moment. "Are the two of you related?"

"Uh…" the criminals exchanged another look, more perplexed this time. "Are you allowed to say 'kinda' in twenty questions?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" The inspector snapped. "Are you two blood related or not?!"

"That's… actually pretty complicated. I guess genetically we are?"

"Your file doesn't say anything about you having a brother, let alone a twin." Zenigata shot a suspicious glance at the first Jigen, who only gave a bark of laughter.

"I bet my file doesn't say a lotta things."

The inspector made an annoyed "hmph" but didn't press the subject. He stared at the mystery double and thought for a minute.

"Are they holding you against your will?"

"Well... they _ were, _ but…"

Jigen elbowed his doppelganger in the side, looking genuinely pleased. "Oh, so you're hanging out with us willingly now?"

"Tell the others and you die."

"That's adorable."

"Shut up."

They continued like that for a while, occasionally irritating Zenigata by struggling to answer what should have been simple questions (asking if the double had worked with Lupin in the past caused such tension that the inspector almost thought the game was over), but eventually the twentieth question was asked and answered. The picture the new information painted was… a confusing one, to say the least.

"So Pops," Jigen was watching him with an unreadable expression. "What's your guess? Who is he?"

Zenigata didn't answer right away. He was staring intently at the doppelganger, expression occasionally twitching into annoyance as he let the information all fall together into one big, very messy puzzle that made little sense. But working against Lupin for so long made him able to see facts that sometimes seemed utterly ridiculous, even if they did make him groan in exasperation.

"Well it sounds like you're trying to tell me he's just a second goddamn Jigen," he threw up his hands in frustration.

To his surprise, his prisoners both looked back at him with what almost seemed like respect.

"Holy shit, got it in one," the original remarked. "Nice job, Pops."

Zenigata bristled. "Don't patronize me, I'll find out who he really is sooner or later."

"We're not, you seriously guessed right. He's just me... from another dimension. _ Wow _ that sounds stupid to say out loud."

"You realize that's completely ridiculous," the inspector growled, watching them as though expecting them to start laughing at him any second.

"Being ridiculous don't make it less true," the double finally spoke, shrugging casually.

"Another dimension," Zenigata repeated skeptically. "You really expect me to believe that."

"You gotta admit, if anyone would be crazy enough to steal someone from another timeline, it'd be Lupin."

The inspector grimaced. Sure, Lupin would be the person to try something so ludicrous, but that didn't mean it was _ possible. _ "And how exactly would he have managed to do that, huh?"

"Ugh," Jigen groaned and slumped back against the wall. "He tried explaining it to me once and I thought my head was gonna explode. Somethin' about anchors…?"

When Zenigata just snorted in disbelief, the double stirred again. "You can think of me as just his twin, if it's easier. Hell knows that's probably the best cover story; Lupin just decided you're one of a few people who oughta know the truth of the whole stupid thing."

"Oh he did, huh?"

"Of course he did, you're his one true love after all," Jigen smirked at him. "He just keeps the rest of us around for the sex."

The doppelganger laughed, but before Zenigata could do more than puff up in anger, they were interrupted by a metallic thumping from overhead. Moments later, the air vent cover dropped unceremoniously onto Zenigata's upturned face, and a very familiar thief was grinning down at them.

"Hey guys, having fun?"

"Oh yeah, tons," Jigen answered in a perfect deadpan. "So you're done?"

Lupin nodded, but his eyes were drawn to Zenigata as the vent cover was tossed aside and the inspector glared up at him.

"So Pops, you've met Blackbird! I hope you played nice." The thief answered any unspoken confusion by nodding to the double.

Zenigata paused, holding back his usual bombastic anger to study Lupin's face thoughtfully. "You seriously want me to believe he's from another dimension?"

"They _ did _ tell you!" the thief exclaimed in delight. "I was worried you would all just scowl at each other the whole time and not chat. Yeah, he's our alternate timeline buddy!"

"Buddy?" Blackbird repeated, his raised eyebrows practically audible.

"What, are we not at buddy status yet?"

The double seemed to be at a loss for words, but mercifully at that moment the door to the closet fell in half, along with the shelves and desk that had been blocking it outside. Goemon peered in at them as he sheathed Zantetsuken, and Blackbird took advantage of Zenigata's surprise to stroll up behind him and clock him on the back of the head, stepping aside to let the inspector's unconscious body drop to the floor.

Jigen tossed the handcuffs he and his doppelganger had long since slipped out of aside as Lupin leaped down from the vent with a flourish. 

"So, what did ya think?" The thief leaned towards Blackbird as they all stepped over Zenigata to leave the room.

The double snorted. "Can't believe you're already having me meet your parents."

Lupin pouted as Jigen laughed, and even Goemon gave a small smile.

"I mean it, what did you think of Pops?"

"I dunno, he's a cop. What do you want me to say?"

"He's not _ just _ a cop," Lupin insisted, scooping up a huge bag he had left on the floor. "He's _ our _ cop."

They continued bickering all the way past the police to the car, and Jigen and Goemon couldn't help but exchange a pleased glance. More barriers were coming down. Neither of them had asked what happened between Lupin and the double while they were out last week, but when they returned to find both of their companions asleep on the couch, leaning against each other… Well, it was pretty obvious that _ something _ happened. But whatever it was, it wasn't stopping progress from being made -- if anything it seemed to have made Blackbird a little less standoffish.

So long as it was helping, they weren't going to question it.

* * *

The sun hadn't finished rising by the time they got back to the safehouse, and no words had to be exchanged to decide they were all headed to the kitchen. Sleep be damned, they needed _ coffee. _

Lupin and Jigen were both slumped at the table, while Goemon and Blackbird started looking through the cupboards. Even though he didn't share their addiction, Goemon was always willing to help with the daily injection of caffeine, and Blackbird still didn't quite trust them all enough to let them just give him a cup of coffee. He needed to get his own mug together, and they didn't push him on it.

However, as soon as he opened the correct cupboard, the double froze in his tracks.

Goemon was the first to notice his surprise. "What is it?"

The marksman didn't answer for a few moments, grimacing and taking a slow, deep breath.

"She's here."

Before the others could ask what he meant, Blackbird reached into the cupboard and turned back to them, holding a mug that had been covered in sparkly bits of plastic.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Jigen grumbled, while beside him Lupin's face lit up with an excited gasp.

Any desire for coffee was gone as the thief sprang up from his chair and dashed out of the room, his footsteps pattering up the stairs in search of Fujiko.

Jigen dragged himself up and over to the window with a frown. "The garage was empty, where…" he stopped and scowled as he moved the curtain. "Ah. She parked her bike in the middle of the backyard. How fucking smashed _ was _she?"

"Enough to do _ all _ the goddamn mugs, apparently," Blackbird growled, continuing to pull mug after mug from the cupboard, all of which had been bedazzled beyond recognition.

"At least she remembered to lock the door behind her," Goemon offered a bright side, unwelcome as it may have been.

When he pulled out a mug that been entirely covered in googly eyes, Blackbird decided he'd had enough. He still could only stand to interact with the group and their general absurdity for so long before needing a break, and after the job they just finished, he was definitely at that limit.

"Fuck it," he snarled in farewell, throwing his hands up before stalking out of the room to find somewhere quieter.

Goemon watched him go until a crash from the stairs signaled Lupin's return, probably after being thrown down them by a hungover Fujiko who was _ not _ interested in his company.

Sure enough, the thief staggered into the room moments later, wincing and rubbing the bump already forming on the back of his head. "Oof… Go up to nap at your own peril, guys."

They both grunted acknowledgement, neither really paying attention as Jigen took over making the coffee and Goemon went back to staring at the other doorway where the doppelganger had gone, a strangely tense look on his face.

"What's the matter?"

The samurai flinched as Lupin reached across the table to nudge him.

"Did he do something?" The thief continued when he received no answer right away, nodding at the doorway to indicate who he meant.

Goemon shook his head. "No, I was just thinking."

"About…?"

Lupin raised an eyebrow as Goemon's expression turned embarrassed. "Lupin, may I… look at the notebook you kept of the visions?"

Both Lupin and Jigen paused to look at him in surprise. 

Now it was the thief's turn to look embarrassed, scratching at the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh, I guess…? Why do you need it?"

"I would like to check something."


	6. Dear Prudence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh snap, Goemon's making a move you guys. 
> 
> I feel like this chapter is a little... disjointed, but overall I'm okay with it to the point where I'm gonna post it anyways. This is what happens when I'm snowed in at home with nothing to do but write until I have to lie down from the eyestrain. >_>;;
> 
> OH WELL. At least there's some emotional progression being made, even if not all of it is in the right direction. The train is slowly chugging away towards some bigger plot points, I promise.

_Dear Prudence, open up your eyes  
Dear Prudence, see the sunny skies  
The wind is low, the birds will sing  
That you are part of everything  
Dear Prudence, won't you open up your eyes?_

\-- The Beatles, "Dear Prudence"

* * *

It wasn’t exactly _ unusual _ for Goemon to get nervous, you just had to know how to read the subtle signs that showed through his stoic behavior. Tiny flinches, split-second glances, extra silences… they all added up to those who knew to look for them. And boy, were they adding up.

In the day since Lupin had let him look through the infamous notebook, Goemon had been increasingly nervous every time Blackbird was in the room, though he refused to tell anyone why. Lupin and Jigen noticed, and so did Fujiko once she finally emerged from her hungover hibernation, but they did nothing aside from exchange the occasional confused look. So long as things didn’t escalate, they could trust Goemon to handle things himself… hopefully.

Nonetheless, as a helpful nudge, they each found excuses to leave the room the next time they were all gathered, and so the samurai and the doppelganger were left there alone.

For several minutes, there was silence. Then finally, ever so hesitantly:

"May I ask you about something?"

Blackbird looked up, only a touch of suspicion visible on his face. "...Shoot."

"According to what our Jigen told us, at one point you… tried to be friendly to the other version of me." Goemon's expression darkened at the mere mention of his other self. "He was not receptive to it, correct?"

"That's an understatement," the double snorted.

"The other Lupin was also unhappy with you."

"Uh-huh." An annoyed scowl twitched at the corner of Jigen's mouth. "Are you going somewhere with this?"

Goemon was quiet for a moment.

"There is a theater nearby showing Throne of Blood for one night. I…"

The doppelganger's face danced through several emotions in quick succession: surprise, curiosity, hurt, suspicion. 

"Are you makin' fun of me?" he growled, but his anger instantly stumbled as he caught sight of the wounded look the samurai gave him in return.

"No. I just thought… I might try to make up for his behavior, in some way."

Blackbird studied him for a moment. "You don't have to do that."

"Maybe not, but I would like to anyway." Goemon looked more determined now, sitting up even straighter than usual with an almost defiant look on his face.

“Seriously, you ain’t responsible for him being a dick. You don’t have to force yourself over me.”

“There is more to it than that.”

When Jigen just gave him a perplexed look, the samurai paused to find the right words before continuing, “I would like a… place to start.”

“Meaning…?”

“With Lupin and our Jigen, there was some kind of foundation they could build on with you, something at least somewhat positive. For Jigen, it was the traits you share, as well as the dreams of each other’s lives. And Lupin, well…” he trailed off from the words that didn’t need to be said. 

“But you don’t have that.” Blackbird leaned against the wall as he continued to study the samurai with an unreadable look on his half-hidden face. 

“Neither Fujiko or I do.” Goemon allowed himself a small sigh as his eyes followed the wood grain of the coffee table. “The only context you have of us are the visions and the other versions of us, which are… not a good foundation.”

Jigen hummed affirmation, but didn’t answer right away. Goemon didn’t push, simply closing his eyes and steadying his whirlwind thoughts and emotions while he let the doppelganger come to a decision.

Eventually, that gruff voice spoke again.

“...Lemme think about it.”

“That is all I ask.”

* * *

Ten days later, they were in town. There were far fewer strange looks being cast Goemon’s way than usual, in part because of the Kurosawa movie, and also because of the dark glares cast by Blackbird any time someone did look sideways at the samurai. The defensiveness was unnecessary, but appreciated, so he didn’t say anything to dissuade the double -- he seemed to enjoy being antagonistic to some extent, anyway.

The night was overcast, with a cold wind occasionally sending a chill down the streets, but it wasn’t uncomfortable enough to dissuade them from walking. Besides, Jigen wanted a smoke and Goemon still had part of an overpriced theater candybar to finish, so they could deal with a little wind. 

They found a spot against a wall that blocked most of the wind, and kept to their own thoughts for a minute. Both were quiet enough by nature to keep the silence from being uncomfortable.

Eventually, Goemon found words to say. “I am glad you agreed to indulge me with this, thank you.”

Blackbird hummed agreement before slowly blowing a cloud of smoke into the night air. “Woulda been a shame to miss it, since it was only playing tonight.”

“Life is too short for wasted opportunities,” Goemon mused, nodding. 

Giving a small huff of laughter, Jigen paused to take another drag of his cigarette, glancing thoughtfully up at the clouds. 

“Out, brief candle.”

When the samurai gave him a questioning look, he shrugged with only a hint of embarrassment. “Macbeth. What the movie was… y’know.”

“I did not know you were so interested in Shakespeare,” Goemon remarked curiously.

“I’m not,” Blackbird admitted with a wry smile. “But boss is, so sometimes we would…”

He trailed off, face falling and posture slumping slightly at the mere recollection of the man he’d been forced to leave behind. 

Things were silent for another minute, as Goemon struggled to think of what the others might say in this situation to smooth things over and change the subject, and Jigen was stuck in his own unhappy thoughts. 

“Y’know…” The double’s voice was quiet, his gaze fixed ahead on something only he could see. “I still miss him. How stupid is that?”

Goemon paused for a moment. 

“It is possible to miss something even while being aware you do not need it back.”

“I dunno, maybe I _ should _ wanna go back,” Blackbird sighed.

The samurai frowned a little. “It is not a matter of if you _ should, _ it is what you _ do _ want that matters.”

“Gee thanks, Confucius.”

“You’re welcome,” Goemon tossed the tease right back at him, earning another amused huff. 

Jigen flicked the stub of his cigarette to the ground and snuffed it out with his heel, shooting the samurai a wicked smirk. “So… wanna upset mom and dad by stayin’ out past curfew?”

* * *

Past curfew was an understatement, as it turned out. The first light of dawn was already appearing on the horizon by the time they returned to the house, creeping silently through the door as though they were actually concerned that they might get in trouble -- with Lupin, it was honestly possible. That, and they were just sensible enough to want to avoid waking anyone too early.

However, it turned out they shouldn’t have worried.

“C’mon Lupin, _ again?” _ The original Jigen’s tired, but not truly annoyed voice came from the kitchen. 

Lupin only gave a purring hum of affirmation, causing the duo in the hall outside to exchange a confused look. 

Quietly, ever so quietly, they crept to the doorframe and peeked around the edge.

Jigen was facing the counter and leaning his hands on the surface, presumably trying to do something food or drink related, but he was having little luck thanks to a certain thief. Pressed against the marksman’s back like he was trying to meld into him, Lupin’s hands were slowly wandering as he sucked a mark into his partner’s neck, only chuckling in answer to any half-hearted grumbles being made in a very weak protest.

Ah. Hm. Well then.

Honestly, it kind of made sense that this was how they had been spending their time, considering the prime opportunity they had been given. It was still startling, sure, but not really surprising. 

When Blackbird glanced at the samurai, he found a very flushed and embarrassed face ducking back around the corner (but only after staring for several long moments, he noted), and he followed Goemon’s lead to retreat without a fuss. Funny, but he found the only awkward part of the whole thing was the sudden reminder that he knew _ exactly _ how it felt to be in that position, and not just because he had been in bed with the other Lupin. 

The dreams, or visions, or whatever the hell they really were, hadn’t been picky about what they showed. Sometimes he would wake up with a start, cursing those fucking dreams because they were quite literally ‘fucking dreams,’ putting him as a passenger in the other Jigen’s head whether he liked it or not. It was weird to think about, that he had far more intimate knowledge of this gang than any of them probably realized… well, apart from Jigen, of course. 

The double froze as something suddenly clicked in his head: if _ he’d _ had dreams showing him exactly what the group’s sex life was like, then did that mean Jigen had also seen him and his boss…?

Well, that was certainly something to never ever discuss with the other gunslinger, ever. 

Turning back to Goemon, Blackbird jerked his head towards the door in a silent signal, leading the samurai back to the front door to cool off a little. It was sort of endearing how flustered Goemon was, even though the doppelganger knew for a _ fact _ he had done similar things with both Lupin and Jigen before, probably many times. How stupidly polite could one man be?

They slipped back outside, only to turn around and open the door again, just louder and more obvious this time. Blackbird may not have been patient enough to wait and let the other two finish, but he would at least give them a heads up that they needed to pull themselves together.

It was strange every time he thought about the arrangement the four of them had. He may have been starting to grudgingly admit he could see what might be attractive about each of them, but the casual nature of the whole thing was still so bizarre when held against how deeply they all seemed to care about one another. No matter how much they bickered and got on each other’s nerves, no one was hurt, no one was cast out, and somehow that started to look… normal. 

<strike> _ He wasn’t jealous. _ </strike>

No matter what he might say, Blackbird was more than aware that he was still very hung up on the other Lupin, which only made thinking about this version of the thief even more complicated. God help him, he couldn’t deny liking the idiot anymore, but anything beyond that became confused and tangled up in memory of his boss.

Surely any other feelings were just a result of the past, right?

<strike> _ Don’t even think about it. _ </strike>

He was just confused by the memories, both his own and the other Jigen’s. It wouldn’t be fair to anybody if he did something based on that. If he even _ wanted _ to do something. 

Still, every time Lupin flashed that dizzying smile, every time he wandered over to express concern over one thing or another, it made things…

“Blackbird?”

He flinched and nearly fell out of his chair as he returned to his senses only to find Lupin less than a foot away, leaning in and staring at him with a frown.

“I’ve been trying to talk to you for like a minute; you still alive in there?”

It took a moment, but the double managed to pull his brain back together with a shake of his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. What do you want?”

“Well, food’s almost ready, but--”

“Okay,” he interrupted whatever else the thief was going to say and got to his feet.

Now just leave. Just get to the kitchen, and surely somebody there will distract Lupin. Just get to the door--

“Hey.”

God fucking dammit.

Blackbird froze in place, shoulders hunched like a guilty child being called out by a teacher. He couldn’t find words, so just made a vaguely questioning grumble without turning around. 

He bristled as Lupin sidled up and made that fucking worried face that had no business making him feel so warm. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t gimme that, something’s bothering you.”

Hesitating, Jigen shot a sidelong look at Lupin and heaved a sigh. “You don’t want me to answer that.”

The thief’s frown only deepened. “So it’s me?”

“Do we haveta talk about this?” the double grimaced.

The only answer was a stubborn stare, and he groaned.

“Look, it’s you, and it’s the other you, and… Shit’s complicated, okay? Don’t worry about it.”

Lupin’s face fell, causing an unpleasant pang in the double’s chest, but the thief’s eyes kept studying him so carefully he felt like he couldn’t move.

_ Don’t look at me like that. Please don’t look at me the way you look at them. You can’t do that. This is already hard enough… _

“If I poke Jigen your way, would you talk to him?” Lupin finally broke the silence. “If there’s anybody else who knows how to handle Lupin problems, y’know it’s him.”

“You’re not gonna let this go, are you.”

“Not until it stops making you miserable.”

Blackbird sighed in exasperation, running a hand down his face. “Okay, fine. Don’t expect a miracle, but I’ll try it.”

Lupin’s face lit up, nodding and pushing him towards the kitchen, where the scent of food was already drifting through the air. He didn’t even flinch at the touch. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To ease any confusion, Throne of Blood is a famous Kurosawa movie that retells the story of Macbeth in the setting of feudal Japan. It's quite something, if you've never seen it. :3


	7. Owner of a Lonely Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to me attempting to string two areas of plot together so I can get to the stuff I actually have planned! I don't have a ton to say on this part for that reason, but I will give some warning that we're getting into a couple chapters of some angsty, edgy shit before a return to the goofiness and feels. So uh, be aware of that going forward. 
> 
> Guys. You guys. This has almost 300 hits. What... why. This story is so weird, I don't understand, but thank you?????

_ You, lose yourself  
No not for pity's sake  
There's no real reason to be lonely  
Be yourself  
Give your free will a chance  
You've got to want to succeed _

\-- Yes, "Owner of a Lonely Heart"

* * *

The tense silence was getting more and more insufferable by the minute. Goemon was attempting to meditate, Fujiko was flipping through an art magazine for potential targets, and Lupin was splitting his attention between his laptop and the door, but none of them felt as peaceful as they looked. Their minds were all in the same place, even if none of them were saying so out loud: outside where an emotionally loaded conversation was hopefully still going on between their identical gunslingers. There hadn't been any shouting or gunshots, so that was a good sign at least.

Lupin was staring at the computer screen with such intensity, it was amazing it hadn't burst into flames, and that face was finally too distracting for Fujiko to ignore anymore.

"What're you looking at?" She asked, her voice sounding too loud somehow in the charged atmosphere.

"Crazy-person science."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Alternate timelines?"

Lupin just hummed and nodded, his eyes never leaving the screen.

Fujiko exchanged a look with Goemon, who had finally opened his eyes, silently conferring over whether or not to press the subject. This level of focus from Lupin could mean any number of things, ranging from mundane to deeply worrying.

Finally coming to an agreement, Fujiko turned her gaze on the thief again. "Any particular reason why?"

"Just being careful," Lupin gave a distracted half-shrug. "I don't think there's a way for Mr. Asshole McSociopath to break through now, but it can't hurt to investigate."

"Should we be concerned?" Goemon finally spoke up with a frown.

"Probably not."

_ "Probably _ not," Fujiko repeated in an exasperated sigh at the unhelpful answer.

"It's just in case," Lupin glanced up for a moment to huff at her.

"And this has nothing to do with avoiding the present issue with your newest roommate?"

The thief pouted. "He's your roommate too."

"Except I don't live with you guys all the time." Fujiko shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyway, no changing the subject. You're worried about them out there, aren't you."

"Of course I am! But I'm enough of an adult to trust that they can handle it."

Fujiko opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment the door swung open and Jigen stalked in, his demeanor entirely unreadable as he crossed to the couch and dropped onto it without a word. The other three exchanged a confused, anxious look, but it quickly became clear Jigen wasn’t about to volunteer any information on his own, so Lupin closed his laptop with a frown and leaned over to nudge his partner’s shoulder.

“Well? How’d it go? Don’t just leave us in suspense.”

The marksman was quiet for a minute, head tilted back to gaze at the ceiling with that impassive expression firmly in place. Almost as if he didn’t want to answer.

When he finally did speak, it felt as though the floor had fallen out from under them all.

“...He’s gone.”

There was only stunned silence for a moment, until Lupin leaned in so far he was practically climbing on top of Jigen.

“Whaddaya mean _ gone?!” _ the thief was angry, panicked, and sad all at once.

“I _ mean,” _ Jigen snarled, attempting to shove Lupin off, “He’s fucked off somewhere!”

“Where?” asked Goemon.

“Did you piss him off?” Fujiko huffed.

“Is he coming back?!” Lupin demanded.

“If you’d all _ shut up _ for two _ fucking _ seconds, I could tell you!”

That settled them down immediately. Lupin even climbed down off his partner, though he was still sitting much too close for comfort.

Jigen sighed heavily and took a second to collect his thoughts.

“He just… needs some air, so he headed into town. Might come back in an hour, might not come back at all.”

“Well that’s not very helpful,” Fujiko remarked, leaning her chin in her hand. 

The marksman made a face at her, but Lupin waved a hand to shush her before a proper argument could break out. 

“Okay, you gotta give us more than that,” he said sternly. “What do you mean, he might not come back at all?”

“I mean I let him off the leash, so who knows what he’s gonna decide to do. Could get on a train and disappear if that’s what he wants.”

When Jigen glanced up, none of their expectant stares had changed, so he grumbled quietly to himself and then continued.

“Look, he hasn’t actually gone somewhere without us this entire fucking time, and I dunno ‘bout you, but that’d drive me crazy after a while. So we agreed letting him just… go off on his own might help with everything. No plan, just kinda doing whatever he feels like.”

Fujiko hummed thoughtfully. “Is he in a stable enough frame of mind for that to be safe?”

“I think so, yeah.”

They were all quiet for a minute, each processing the information on their own with varying levels of unhappiness. Lupin was the first to stir.

“So, no clue where he’s going or for how long?”

“That’s kinda what ‘no plan’ means, yeah.”

Lupin swatted him, but didn’t push for more bickering -- a sign of just how concerned he was over the whole affair.

More silence.

Eventually, it was the thief who spoke, his expression glazed over into a calm that stirred uncomfortable memories in Jigen’s mind.

“...Okay.”

The others stared at him in confusion.

“Okay?”

“Yup,” Lupin shrugged. “It’s out of our hands now, right? So back to business as usual, and we’ll just wait and see.”

Forced disinterest wasn’t the best coping mechanism, but it was one Lupin fell back on from time to time when he was struck by emotional pain, and his companions were more than familiar with recognizing it. It was always a bad sign when such a human ray of sunshine felt he had to make himself cold, leaving the others with the challenge of snapping him out of it… somehow.

* * *

Things were quiet in the small coffee shop, with only a handful of customers dotted around, most of whom were focused on their phones or laptops as they sipped their drinks. Snippets of conversation danced in the air, but not loud enough to be distracting. It was nice, in a boring kind of way.

At the table lined with sugar, cream, and various other additions to be dashed into drinks at the customer’s leisure, two hands paused as they simultaneously reached for the stirring sticks. The owners of the hands met eyes, did a slight double-take, and leapt back from each other in surprise.

“You!” Zenigata pointed accusingly. “You’re…!”

“Ugh. You again,” Blackbird grumbled.

He reached out and grabbed a stirrer, as though that was the end of the interaction, while Zenigata continued staring at him with a mixture of curiosity, annoyance, and thoughtfulness. 

“What do I call you, anyway?”

That made the double pause. “...Why d’you wanna know?”

“You want me to just call you ‘Other Jigen’ forever?” the inspector huffed.

“You could fuck off and not call me anything.”

“Not happening.”

Blackbird just rolled his eyes and scoffed in annoyance, turning and loping to the door as though Zenigata wouldn’t actually follow him. No such luck, as the inspector was on his heels within a few steps down the sidewalk, drawing a deeper scowl to the marksman’s face.

“Go away, old man.”

“No.”

The doppelganger cast a dirty look back over his shoulder. “Y’know I’m not gonna lead you back to Lupin, right?”

“I’m more interested in you right now.”

He actually stopped in his tracks, making Zenigata stumble to avoid running into his back. Even without seeing his eyes, the inspector could tell the gunman was looking him up and down when he looked back again, confusion stamped all over his half-hidden face. 

“Since when d’you care about anyone but Lupin?”

Zenigata snorted in annoyance, folding his arms across his chest. “Since I was told his newest gang member is from _ another dimension.” _

“You believe that now?” Blackbird took a sip of his coffee and started walking again, though with an air that suggested he expected to be followed this time.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

The double just hummed into his drink, agreeing with the absurdity of the whole thing.

“But if it is…” Zenigata’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Then why are you playing along?”

He received a confused glance in answer, and so continued, “Jigen said Lupin ‘stole’ you, which means you’ve got a home of your own, a life… maybe even another Lupin?”

They had reached a tiny park, little more than a viewing area for a scenic cliff-top view of the ocean. Blackbird said nothing for a minute as they crossed to the heavy metal railing at the edge, but Zenigata could see the doppelganger’s free hand shaking slightly as he leaned in and gripped the rail. He had clearly hit a nerve.

Sure enough, the marksman’s voice was rough and hollow when he finally did speak again. “...None of your business.”

“It is absolutely my business,” Zenigata strode up alongside him, but kept a few feet between them. “If you were brought here against your will and want to go back, I’m pretty sure there’s no law against helping you out.”

“As if you even could.”

“Won’t know until I try.”

Blackbird’s expression twitched into a scowl again. “Why would you even care?”

“Because Lupin running around with _ one _ Jigen backing him up is bad enough,” the inspector admitted. 

When he was just scoffed at, Zenigata finally cast a sidelong glance at the double as he took a sip of his own coffee. 

“And helping people is my job, too.”

They were both quiet for a long time. It was hard to tell what was more uncomfortable: the idea of being helped by a cop (even one as bizarre as Zenigata), or the thought of actually… going back home. He wanted to, and he didn’t want to, and both emotions caused twists of guilt and anxiety that made him feel sick. Just like how he both did and didn’t want to go back to the house on the far side of town, with four people he did and didn’t want to be near.

He had been stewing in indecision ever since leaving the house, walking past the train station and bus depot several times without being able to make himself go more than a few steps inside. His free will had been revived, but he had no idea how to utilize it anymore, and even just that realization was… kind of agonizing.

If he couldn’t function without someone telling him what to do, then maybe he _ did _ belong back home. At least there was structure there, even if it wasn’t always good, and the rewards always matched the risks. Hatred and tension was so much more straightforward than caring and freedom. 

Of course, all that was assuming he wouldn’t just be killed or cut loose immediately if he did make it back. Hell, maybe this Lupin’s gang wouldn’t even be at the house if he tried returning to them. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been left in such a way.

The last of his coffee was gone by the time Blackbird stirred again, still staring ahead at the horizon.

“...There’s a reason they decided to bring me here, y'know.”

* * *

They just had leftovers for dinner, none of them feeling up to cooking or going out. Lupin was still on autopilot, though the others kept finding him with a pained look on his face when he thought they weren’t looking, and Jigen was being even more irritable than usual, like he expected them to all be angry with him for letting Blackbird go. They were, to some small extent, but they understood his reasoning enough not to argue. 

Things were tense, and quiet, and altogether gloomy when Goemon came back inside from training only a minute after leaving. His expression was unreadable, drifting to each of the others in turn and nudging them, only to nod towards the front door and wander off without a word. It didn’t take more than a few moments to decipher the message he was trying to give.

Sure enough, someone was on the porch, smoking and trying very hard to pretend he didn’t notice them gathering at the door. They silently conferred through a series of glances, deciding who should go out to avoid overwhelming the double, but it turned out not to matter.

The door hadn’t even been opened all the way before Lupin stumbled, hands gripping his head and expression twisted in agony. 

Everything seemed to prickle as static electricity filled the air.

There was no time to cry out; barely time for realization to hit.

The air crackled, and the circuit was completed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somebody wants their toy back.


	8. Gimme Shelter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I'm updating the tags again, because now comes a little bit of badness. Nothing is explicit, but there is implied torture and sexual assault in this one, so just be aware of it if that's too uncomfortable. The grim shit should only be in this and the next chapter, before we get back on the train to feelings town.
> 
> This is kinda short, but... aw to heck with it, I feel like most of what I write is too short, but that's just how I do.

_ War, children, it's just a shot away _

_ I tell you love, sister, it's just a kiss away _

_ It's just a shot away _

_ It's just a kiss away _

\-- The Rolling Stones, "Gimme Shelter"

* * *

For a minute, all Blackbird could do was lie there. He could barely hear Lupin screaming over the thudding of his heartbeat, only vaguely aware of the dirt beneath him. The shock had numbed him completely as his brain caught up with the past few seconds.

The deafening thunderclap as the air ripped open. The hands.  _ Him. _

In the criminal world, freezing up was a rookie mistake, one that killed countless would-be crooks and assassins. It was a stupid,  _ stupid _ error to make. But there he’d been, utterly paralyzed even as part of his mind screamed at him to move, helpless and pathetic at just the wrong moment. A songbird staring into the jaws of a hungry wolf.

Then he was shoved to the ground, and when he’d looked up it was to see the portal closing, closing around…

He’d taken the double’s place. 

A spasm of energy returned to his body, allowing him to snap up into a sitting position as he looked around in a daze. Lupin was kneeling where the portal had been, still shredding his throat with wordless howls of anguish and rage. Fujiko had slumped against the doorframe, sitting on the floor and looking just as numb as Blackbird felt. Goemon was behind her, one hand on her shoulder and the other on Zantetsuken.

And Jigen… Jigen was now in the hands of his boss.

_ Why? _

Goemon was calling him, but he couldn’t make sense of the words.

_ Why would you do that? _

Fujiko crawled forward to throw her arms around Lupin in an attempt to calm him.

_ They need you so much more than they could ever need me. Why didn’t you let him take me instead? _

A hand touched the double’s shoulder, and he jolted back into the present. Goemon was standing over him, studying him with a deep concern he felt entirely unworthy of, only made worse when the samurai spoke. 

“Are you hurt?” 

“Me?” his own voice sounded strange, too empty and bitter. “Am  _ I…? _ Why would you--”

“Are you hurt,” Goemon simply repeated himself with a stern look. 

His voice failed him, so he shook his head.

Goemon looked at him for another moment, as though to search for signs of a lie, then he nodded curtly and stood up again. But instead of walking away, the samurai held out a hand. Blackbird just stared at it.

“Why aren’t you mad?”

A cloud passed over Goemon’s face, and for a moment the double thought he might actually cry before his usual stoicism returned. “I am. But now is not the time for it.”

They stared each other down for another few moments, until finally Blackbird turned away, ignoring the outstretched hand and getting up on his own. He couldn’t touch any of them, not now. 

Within minutes, they were all back inside, and Lupin was explaining things in an exhausted, hoarse voice without looking at any of them. It was about what the doppelganger had expected to hear, but it still left his blood cold. 

The thief had been experiencing random headaches and hazy flashes in his dreams for about a week, but nothing concrete enough to definitively say it was the work of his other self. He had been doing research on his own to that end, not wanting to panic the others if it turned out to be nothing, but… Well, too late now.

“If he was able to make that same kind of connection between me and him,” Lupin explained with anger flickering across his face, “Then chances are he can see us through me and vice versa, now that the link is properly formed.”

“The dreams.” Fujiko placed a hand on his leg, but he didn’t look at her. 

Lupin’s hands clenched and unclenched as he continued glaring at the coffee table. “Which means, if I help plan our next move, we’ll have no way of knowing when he’ll be watching. To keep it from him, we have to keep it from me.”

Fujiko and Goemon exchanged a worried look, while Blackbird continued watching from the corner in silence. 

“I might have a trick or two up my sleeve for this,” Lupin finally sat upright, though he wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone. “But until I can find out for sure, the planning’s on you guys.”

They nodded.

* * *

_ “Time’s up.” _

_ The first thing he was aware of was pain. Dull aches and stabs of agony with every little breath and twitch, blurring his vision as he tried to focus on the three shapes in front of him.  _

He knew their faces. Fujiko? Goemon? No… that was Mine and Ishikawa. And behind them…

_ “You’ve had your fun, now go.” The other Lupin sounded so calm, gesturing up the stairs behind him without bothering to look at his subordinates. “There are files on my desk with your next tasks. Get moving.” _

_ Now that the room wasn’t spinning quite so much, he could make out a look of mild disappointment on Mine’s face, but there was an overwhelming sense of smug satisfaction radiating from both her and Ishikawa.  _

He had a feeling he could guess why. Even if it wasn’t really him, he doubted either of them would miss a chance to beat someone who looked just like him. Hell knew, he would have leapt at the chance to do the same to them, once upon a time.

_ Lupin was standing over him now, hands in his pockets as he surveyed him with just the barest hint of a smirk pulling at one side of his mouth. It melted into something almost affectionate, soothing… but that cold, predatory light never left the master thief’s gaze. _

He knew that look so,  _ so _ well.

_ Tutting softly, Lupin knelt down and ran a hand through his prisoner’s hair. “Don’t make that face. You know I have to teach you, but it’s over for now.” _

_ He tried to jerk away from the thief’s touch as it moved down the side of his face, but between the restraints and pain, he could barely twitch. _

_ “Y’think…” he gasped, as Lupin raised an eyebrow. “You can jus’... have us b...both?” _

_ A smile spread across the master thief’s face, gazing at him with a sort of condescending fondness. “Ah, that’s what you don’t understand yet, my dear.” _

_ Lupin’s hand gripped his jaw and forced him to make eye contact. _

_ “You’re both already mine.” _

Gasping, Blackbird nearly flung himself off the couch as he jerked awake, his eyes darting around the room for a second before he remembered where he was, trembling and panting in the lingering waves of panic. 

Fuck. They had speculated that his dreams might start up again as well, now that he and Jigen were once again on opposite sides of the dimensional divide, but he hadn’t really been ready for them. How could he be? He was witnessing the man who used to be his entire world going through the process of breaking his double, trying to turn him into another obedient pet. Just like… Well. No point in dwelling on it now, he’d only lose his nerve if he did that.

As he sat there, trying to will his heart rate back down, he became aware of the sound of footsteps on the stairs, practically running down them and into the dining room. A door was thrown open, followed by a thud, and Blackbird couldn’t restrain himself anymore. 

The door to the downstairs bathroom was open, with a figure standing hunched over the sink, breathing heavily. Even without the lights on, he could tell who it was.

_ “Fuck!” _ Lupin snarled, slamming his hands against the counter.  _ “FUCK!” _

It wasn’t hard to realize the thief had also been asleep, which meant he had just watched the same scene play out from the other side. Blackbird’s chest tightened as he wondered just how Jigen must have looked from the other Lupin’s eyes, considering how awful he’d felt. 

The double almost started to move forward, but ice gripped his heart and he stopped dead in his tracks. If the boss saw through Lupin’s eyes, saw him offering  _ comfort _ to the  _ enemy… _ That kind of betrayal would never be tolerated, and now that the crime lord had Jigen to replace him with…

Any common sense or thoughts that he wasn’t going back were rendered silent by the paralyzing fear. 

The double retreated back to the living room, leaving Lupin alone. 

* * *

Each day seemed to fly by and last an eternity at the same time, as the group threw every ounce of energy into their mission, only pausing to help calm one another. Though still horrified by the very idea of being in Lupin’s line of sight, Blackbird kept Goemon and Fujiko updated on the situation on the other side, though usually he would do little more than tell them that Jigen was still fighting back as best he could. And mercifully, it was true, but for how long was anybody’s guess.

His boss was a master of manipulation: physical, emotional, and sexual; and Blackbird was seeing moments of all those talents being put to use every time he lost consciousness. There was still a twisted part of him that was almost  _ jealous _ somehow, but he kept it as smothered as possible, hoping he could snuff it out by ignoring its existence. He couldn’t still be so dependent on the other Lupin that he would even crave this kind of attention from him. He couldn’t be.

On the second day, Lupin produced an old book and gave it to Fujiko with fire in his eyes, before disappearing back into the study where he had basically imprisoned himself. It was a cipher for a code the thief had made with his grandfather, back when he was still learning the art of subterfuge, and it finally gave them a way to communicate with Lupin that hopefully his other self couldn’t make use of. Notes would fly back and forth as they worked over the next week, mostly between Lupin and Fujiko, while Goemon and Blackbird focused on the combat side of things. 

The dreams were revealing that the boss was keeping Ishikawa close at almost all times, most likely in anticipation of an attack from them -- if they wanted to get Jigen out, they would have to keep the samurai occupied. Of course, Goemon was more than willing to take on the task, but Blackbird had to remind him that it wouldn't  _ just _ be Ishikawa there; the boss was always surrounded by guards, the most competent members of the gang who could still be considered expendable. They needed to be able to handle all of them at once.

But despite it all, they  _ did _ have one advantage they could make use of…

* * *

"Almost time."

He was sitting at an upstairs window, staring at the sky and trying to calm his frayed nerves. 

"Just a little bit longer, okay?"

There was no way to know when Jigen was asleep and could see through him, so Blackbird had taken to talking to himself at random intervals, in the hope that he’d manage to… well, talk to himself. Even if he was just rambling to nobody, it was at least something to keep him somewhat grounded as the clock continued ticking towards the appointed time. If nothing else, it was probably better than drinking himself into a miserable, guilt-ridden stupor, trying frantically to dampen the memory of pain and hands, hands everywhere...

“They’re real fuckin’ hellbent on this, y’know,” he sighed. “You better have a lotta thank-you’s lined up for ‘em when this is over. ...You goddamn dumbass.”

Over and over again he’d asked empty space why Jigen had done what he did, of course never receiving any answer other than what his own guilt could supply. The others insisted that it had been the right move, that they would be mounting this assault even if it  _ had _ been him who’d been taken, but it was just so hard to accept. The idea that he would be worth the same amount of effort just felt wrong somehow.

“Shoulda let me go…”

Someone knocked on the doorframe to get his attention, making him jump so much he nearly hit the ceiling.

“You ready?”

Through the exhaustion and agony, the cold fury coiled around Lupin’s entire being was enough to make him flinch, looking away as if he was somehow responsible for such a state. If the thief noticed his discomfort, he didn’t comment on it. 

“Yeah, m’coming,” the double muttered, pushing off the wall.

Lupin held out a hand to stop him at the door. “Hey… You know how things have to go, right?”

Blackbird tensed, but said nothing, prompting Lupin to look at him and continue. “Either he dies or I do. That’s the only way this can end. You know that, right?”

His voice was gone, twisted up like everything else inside him at the sound of those words. He knew it was true, he’d known it all along, but…

The double just nodded.

“Okay then,” Lupin cast one more unreadable look at him before turning to lead the way downstairs. “Let’s get moving.”


	9. Painkiller

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I've been waiting a while to use this song for Other Lupin, because it's kinda like coming full circle. All of this began when I read a fascinating fic, and left a comment on it about how much I thought the song fit the story. Then I went back and forth with the author a little bit, and ultimately I ended up with permission to expand on the idea. And well... here we are. So I suppose this fic might not exist without this song.
> 
> I might actually come back and touch this chapter up a bit at some point, because it's pretty important. But I also might not. I'm fickle that way. I will take this opportunity to say thank you for so much positive response to such a bizarre little project, though. :3

_ A little bit of love  
I'm not askin' for much  
The feeling of your touch _

_ Painkiller _

\-- Spirit Animal, "Painkiller"

* * *

The feeling of static in the air was just enough of a warning to get Ishikawa in position before the portal snapped open. A hail of bullets came through first, that were quickly rendered useless by the samurai, then actual human forms dashed into the room. Lupin watched calmly as the other versions of himself and Mine stopped firing, only for the second Ishikawa to dash through and collide with his own samurai, their identical blades ringing out as they clashed together. 

So that was three. That just left…

His unspoken question was answered by the crack of gunfire from a certain revolver, dropping three of his assembled bodyguards before they had a chance to react. Ah, there he was. The master thief noted how his marksman wasn’t following the imitations through the portal, as though he recognized he was doing wrong and was afraid to face the consequences. At least the fakes hadn’t ruined his talent for murder, as he continued to demonstrate on the mindless goons that were pouring into the office, so things certainly weren’t as bad as they could have been. It may take some work, but he was salvageable. 

Lupin sighed and stepped back as the two samurai continued their frantic close-quarters duel, apparently so fixated on one another that collateral damage was being ignored. He would have to punish Ishikawa for such disregard for the thief’s property later, but one thing at a time. 

The doubles of Mine and himself had knocked over a bookshelf and ducked behind it for cover, continuing their firefight with the guards as the real Mine followed the latest wave of goons, surprise stamped all over her face as she caught sight of the attackers.

She met the crime lord’s gaze, and he nodded towards the imitations in silent instruction. If she was going to stare, she could help fight.

But something had changed. Lupin’s eyes narrowed as he realized there were only two guns firing from the enemy now…

* * *

They had the advantage of having two connections to use instead of one. 

Another crack, another spark, and the air broke apart down below, past a heavy door and a flight of stairs into cold concrete.

Blackbird stumbled from the whiplash of crossing over, grimacing a little at the scent of blood and chemicals hanging in the air. No time to think about it, this second little portal wouldn’t last even a minute before it closed. Just follow the plan and don’t _ think. _

“Dai…?”

His head snapped up towards the familiar voice, but any answer he may have given died in his throat, his blood going cold as he laid eyes on the man whose pain he’d been feeling in his sleep for the past week and a half. 

Through the drying blood and bruises, Jigen actually managed a small huff that could almost be called a laugh.

“Looks that bad, huh?”

_ This is your fault. You caused this. _

Blackbird shook the thoughts from his head and crossed the room. “Pretty bad, yeah.”

“Not surprised, I feel like roadkill,” Jigen sighed, but winced as he seemed to breathe too deeply and cause another spasm of pain.

“I know,” the double mumbled without looking up, as he stopped at the table of ‘tools’ the other Lupin kept handy for use on prisoners. He could only hope things hadn't changed too much while he was away, and that the setup down here was still the same... 

Gingerly moving a pair of syringes, he pulled out the shoebox where the boss kept several pairs of handcuffs, peering underneath and sighing in relief to see exactly what he expected. Thank god for spare keys, or else they’d have to start worrying about getting the one from the other Lupin.

“Hold still,” he muttered to Jigen, approaching again and taking hold of the cuffs binding the marksman to one of the pipes connected to the ceiling. 

It seemed like the gunman was about to throw more snark at him, judging by the look on his face, but suddenly his expression changed to one of alertness, staring past Blackbird towards the stairs. It was all the warning he needed.

Whipping around and drawing his gun in one smooth movement, it wasn’t until his revolver was pointed right between the new arrival’s eyes that he realized who it was.

The crime lord met his gaze with one of cold annoyance. He made no attempt to move; they both knew Blackbird couldn’t pull the trigger. 

Jigen was saying something behind him, but he couldn’t make out the words. He couldn’t look away from that icy stare, the cold seeping into his bones and making him shiver. 

It wasn’t just fear anymore; this was his training, his programming to _ obey _ nothing and no one but the man looking at him with such disappointment, such disdain. 

Everything told him to appease, to follow, to do whatever it took to earn back his approval. _ Obey. _

Finally, Lupin spoke in a flat, authoritative voice. 

“Down.”

The reaction was instantaneous. The revolver clattered to the unfinished floor, and Blackbird barely registered the pain of dropping to his knees on concrete, breathing hard like he’d been running. He was staring blankly ahead, utterly paralyzed. 

The portal crackled one last time, and disappeared.

The click of Lupin’s shoes on the floor seemed much too loud in his ears as the master thief approached, and he couldn’t help but hold his breath in anticipation. Next thing he knew, something brushed his hair aside, and achingly familiar fingers were slinking across his skin to grip the back of his neck. Warning, comforting, possessive.

“Good,” Lupin said simply, his hand tightening for just a moment.

“You _ FUCKER!” _ Jigen snarled from behind him. _ “Let--” _

Lupin leaned forward and he was cut off, presumably by the master thief’s hand covering his mouth. The other hand didn’t leave Blackbird’s neck. 

“There now,” the boss shushed in a low, soothing voice. “See how easy that was?”

Something made a slamming sound from above. It took a moment for him to realize it was the door being thrown open, followed by footsteps descending the stairs towards them. It took all his willpower to make himself look up.

The other. The fake. The bright. 

Lupin’s expression was carved from stone as he walked down the steps at an even, controlled pace, but there was an inferno in his eyes as he took in the scene before him.

The hand on the double's neck tightened again as his boss turned to face the thief.

Silence, only broken by Lupin's footsteps until he reached the floor, then the quiet was complete. Two wolves staring each other down. Only one could have the pack.

When a voice finally broke the tension, it almost sounded deafening.

"Hm, I was wondering if you'd catch up."

Lupin's expression didn't change. "You disappointed, or excited?"

"Well, this had to happen sooner or later."

"It did," Lupin's eyes narrowed, and he dropped the pleasantries. "I'm not about to let you keep doing this without consequences."

"You've been enjoying the show, then?" The words dripped with sadistic satisfaction.

Lupin only glared for a moment, not taking the bait, but from behind Jigen growled quietly.

"What gives you the right to treat them like that?"

The crime lord raised an eyebrow. "Like what? Well paid, with a purpose and a place where their talents are appreciated? I give them what they _ need." _

"Only when it's what you want," Lupin spat. “If they feel or want anything else, you just fuck with their heads ‘til it stops.”

“I provide for them, and in return they obey. I like to make sure everyone holds up their end of the deal, that’s all.”

“There’s a difference between an employer and a master.”

The boss hummed thoughtfully, the thumb on Blackbird’s neck slowly rubbing back and forth. “In the civil world, maybe. Have you forgotten that every one of us here is a criminal? That every one of us has taken lives? The rules of the rest of the world don’t apply to us in the same way.”

“And that lets you treat your people like shit?”

“You know how much worse their lives would be if they weren’t with me? I can’t imagine our worlds are so different that you can’t picture it. The odds that these two would still be alive without us are… well, not in their favor.”

Jigen made an irritated noise in the back of his throat, but said nothing. Blackbird was unresponsive.

“That doesn’t mean you can treat them like objects,” Lupin insisted defiantly. “You can’t have them, not anymore.”

The thief’s words from before they left echoed in the double’s head, making him want desperately to sink into the floor and disappear. He couldn’t take much more of this.

_ “Either he dies or I do. That’s the only way this can end.” _

The tension in the room was rapidly getting worse, even as the verbal conversation petered out. There was still so much unsaid in every movement, every facial expression as the thieves continued to stare each other down, each second ticking towards the breaking point. 

It was the tiniest shift that got his attention, something flickering in the corner of his eye. The hand that wasn’t still claiming him making the most subtle movement. 

But he saw. 

He saw the hand, and he saw the gun.

Time seemed to slow down, memories of the past few months dancing through his head as though it was his life on the line instead of Lupin’s, making the horrible realization that no one else was in a position to do anything about it. No one else could see what was about to happen. 

He was moving before he could think about anything else.

A shout, a gunshot, and a crash echoed through the room as Blackbird wrenched out of the crime lord’s grip and threw himself against the boss’ legs, throwing off his aim just as he went to shoot the other thief. He still fired even as he was shoved to the floor, but the bullet only grazed Lupin’s side as the gun skidded out of the boss’ hand. 

The thief was pissed. No sooner had Blackbird scrambled back from his boss in a horrified stupor at his own defiance before Lupin dove at his other self, tackling him farther from his gun as they started lashing out at one another.

Blackbird was moving on pure instinct at that point, too shocked by the idea of what he had just done to properly think about anything -- all he knew was he had to get his gun, and get to Jigen.

“What’re you doing?!” Jigen looked from his double to the brawling Lupins on the floor as soon as Blackbird reached him. “Don’t worry ‘bout me, he--”

“No!” Lupin had apparently heard him, yelling to them mid-fight. “Get him and get out! I’ll catch up!”

_ “What?!” _ Both Jigens reacted in perfect, incredulous unison.

“GO!”

Blackbird made a distressed noise in the back of his throat, but finished undoing the handcuffs rather than argue. To his credit, Jigen tried to stand on his own for a second, but between the injuries and remaining restraints all he managed was to awkwardly flop onto his double with a muttered curse. At least it kept him from trying to interfere with the frenzy on the floor.

"We can't seriously leave him!" He hissed as he realized Blackbird was in fact dragging him to the stairs.

"Maybe not, but we're getting _ you _ outta here first."

"But--"

The look his double shot at him was so pained and severe, he couldn't even finish the protest.

It was agony to ignore the feral snarls and and enraged swearing from behind them, but it was a mercy that the Lupins both seemed too caught up in their hatred now to try calling for them. No matter what he’d said, Blackbird wasn’t sure he could make himself go back -- not if he’d have to face his boss after such a betrayal. But if Lupin’s life was at risk…

“Guys!”

He was snapped out of his panic by a voice at the top of the stairs, both he and Jigen looking up to see Fujiko standing there, assault rifle in her hands. She shifted the gun so she could reach a hand out to them, and the haze in the double’s mind disappeared.

This was what mattered now. 

Pounding steps rushed up behind them, a battered but breathing Lupin making Jigen finally relax a little as he approached. 

But there was a shadow behind him.

Before any of them could shout warnings, an arm threw itself around the thief’s neck, trying to pull him back down the steep stairway. The second Lupin was all anger now as his eyes finally found his marksman. His gaze flicked from Blackbird’s face to the gun in his hand and back again; the silent instructions were clear.

_ Kill him. _

The gun was raised before he even realized he was moving, pointed between Lupin's startled eyes as the thief struggled with the arm around his neck.

_ Make a choice. _

Despite everything, there were good memories from both worlds. No matter what was behind it, there was still caring, gentleness, and a sense of belonging. Kind words, that amazing smile…

_ Choose. _

Even if he was separate from it, could he really let that strange bond between the four otherworldly criminals get torn apart? Could he snuff out that star?

His aim twitched down, and he pulled the trigger.

The look on his boss’ face as the bullet slammed into his leg was one that would haunt the doppelganger for the rest of his life. The crime lord collapsed, tumbling head-over-heels down the unforgiving staircase to the concrete floor, but Blackbird couldn’t make himself watch to see what damage was done. Lupin teetered backwards as well, but Jigen’s arm shot out and grabbed him, pulling him to them as they scrambled up the last few steps to the doorway. 

The room was… not quite a room anymore, as the outer wall had been completely sliced away to reveal the street below. Bodies lay everywhere, but the most pressing matter was the portal, already shrinking and sparking with every passing moment.

“Where’s Goemon?!” Lupin snapped, but his question was answered by a crash from outside.

Fujiko dashed over to the gaping hole in the building, and after a moment she held out her hand to be seized by the samurai as he leapt up to them, stumbling a little as he let himself be pulled in. They sprinted for the portal and threw themselves in, but Blackbird hesitated.

Mine was slumped against a wall, disarmed and defeated but still alive, and as he watched Ishikawa struggled up through the hole in the wall, bleeding heavily from the stump where his right arm used to be. It was strange, he recognized that he still hated them both, and probably always would, but somehow, after seeing what they could have been…

“So what d’you deserve?”

They both stared at him with confused eyes, but neither could react in time before he too passed through the portal, vanishing as the tear crackled and was gone.


	10. Iridescent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moooooore connecting stuff! Next chapter will be the... I guess end of this Act, so to speak? Not the end-end, mind you, and I have no intention of stopping so soon, but there's definitely the end to an arc soon.
> 
> Yeah this chapter's named for a Linkin Park song. I like them, fight me. >:F
> 
> Also I'm... astonished that this is just about at 400 hits? You guys, why are you so great?

_ Do you feel cold and lost in desperation  
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known  
Remember all the sadness and frustration  
And let it go, let it go _

\-- Linkin Park, "Iridescent"

* * *

Everything was quiet as they lay stunned on the grass, the only sounds coming from wild birds singing in the trees. 

Finally Lupin began to laugh, breathless and exhausted.

“Well shit… We actually did it.” He wiped a smear of blood from his face as he sat up, but his attention quickly shifted to Jigen. “C’mon, let’s get you taken care of.”

“Whoa, hold on. You got  _ shot! _ I can wait!” Jigen gestured to the thief, even as he had to lean on Goemon to sit up properly.

“It barely hit me! You spent a week and a half in a torture basement!”

“Like that kinda thing’s never happened before.”

Goemon frowned. “We can care for both of you, don’t argue over who is more injured.”

They almost started to grumble agreement, but then it actually registered to both Lupin and Jigen that the samurai was wearing a lot more red than usual.

“Goemon what the  _ fuck?!” _

“Look at you! We gotta deal with  _ you _ first before you bleed out!”

“Most of it is not mine. ...I think,” the samurai muttered sheepishly, looking down at himself.

They continued to argue as Fujiko sighed quietly from the sidelines, a fond smile on her face despite the childishness. She cast a glance at where Blackbird was sitting next to her, also watching the others with a sort of stunned expression, like he couldn’t quite believe they were back.

“Hey,” she reached out and gently touched his shoulder. “Still with us?”

The double flinched, blinking as he was snapped out of his stupor. He nodded slowly.

Fujiko looked at him for a moment, her face going through several levels of emotion until she settled on a shaken smile, her hand squeezing his shoulder a little before she removed it.

“...Thank you.”

At her words, the double instinctively tilted his head to hide more of his face; he didn’t trust his expression at the moment. He only managed to give a vague shrug in answer, and she accepted that.

* * *

The physical damage was… more or less manageable. Lupin had a number of scrapes and bruises from his fistfight, but the bullet wound wasn’t anything serious. Goemon had a few nasty slices in him from Ishikawa’s version of Zantetsuken, but once they were cleaned and disinfected they seemed much less dire. Fujiko and Blackbird had only a few scrapes between them; they were practically fine.

Unsurprisingly, Jigen was the worst off. The other Lupin had gotten started on making sure he had scars to match Blackbird’s, in addition to the general battering and bruising, but the only real internal injuries were some pulled muscles, fractures in his left leg, and a few cracked ribs -- the crime lord never liked causing damage that might make his toys less useful. He needed to be warmed up, properly fed and hydrated, and kept from trying to do too much for a while, but there was nothing life-threatening.

The real problems were mental and emotional. 

When Jigen first flinched at Fujiko touching him, nobody thought much of it. They’d always had a rocky relationship, and he was still understandably jumpy, no big deal. It wasn’t until he had the same reaction to both Goemon and Lupin that they realized there was more to it. 

The marksman muttered apologies every time, and it was clearly bothering him to be acting that way, but there was little he could do to control it. It wasn’t really them, but their faces had been the ones causing all the hurt, and something in his subconscious was still afraid every time they moved to touch him. He was getting increasingly agitated by his own instincts, so they decided to see if Blackbird might have a better effect… 

Only he wasn’t there. 

It was Goemon who went to search the house for him, finally discovering the double in one of the spare bedrooms -- but he froze halfway through reaching for the doorknob. There was muffled sobbing coming from inside.

“...Are you alright?”

A strange, broken noise was the only answer at first: part snarl, part gasp, part bitter laugh. Then eventually

“Fuck off. Go help the others.”

“They are worried about you too.” Goemon kept his voice as level as possible.

A pause.

“Tell ‘em not to bother.”

“You know that will not work.”

Another pause, longer this time.

“...I never turned on an employer before,” the double admitted quietly, forcing Goemon to listen carefully to hear him through the door. “I made a point of it. If there’s ever any honor for people like me, that was it. And he was even  _ more _ than a boss, he was  _ everything, _ but I just…”

“It had to be done.”

He could just barely hear Blackbird taking a deep breath inside the room. “I don’t know if I even killed him. Don’t think I wanna know.”

Based on the basic retelling of events Goemon had heard from each of the others, he thought it was almost certain that a fall like that would be fatal, but he wouldn’t say it. The double was suffering from enough guilt as it was.

“Whatever you sacrificed, from what I understand…” the samurai paused to find the right words. “We owe you everything. We are not going to toss you aside.”

There was a heavy sigh from the other side of the door.

"You can go back, I'll be there in a few more minutes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just… need another sec."

* * *

The following couple weeks weren't easy for anyone. Every day seemed to reveal more emotional damage that Jigen hadn’t even been aware of, and it clearly frustrated him to no end to be so fragile. He was begrudgingly accepting most of the help being offered, but only because of how much it obviously hurt the others when he didn’t, and they could tell. None of them knew when an act of comfort might accidentally become a reminder of their other selves. 

It didn’t help that one of their number was constantly going missing. Blackbird hadn’t isolated so much since the first days he’d spent with them, festering in his own misery and not trusting himself to do anything helpful for the rest of the group aside from occasionally tending to Jigen when he was having a bad reaction to the others. The pair of them didn’t talk much during those times, but they didn’t really need to: the silent conversations carried out through glances and body language were more helpful than anything else. 

But being useful… somehow made the double feel worse. Trapped, almost. Both Jigens had shorter tempers than usual, and the rest of the group was at a loss for how to properly help.

Or at least two of them were.

“Morning, grumpy.”

Blackbird froze in the doorway, bristling on instinct to find someone else in the kitchen. He’d taken to waiting in the mornings so the others would be out of the way, and until now it had been working to give him some privacy.

Fujiko nodded to the pot, sipping her own coffee while pointing out there was still some left to be poured.

The double made a face, but crossed to the counter anyway. He couldn’t argue against getting some caffeine in his system.

For a minute, things were quiet. Then, Fujiko shot a sidelong glance at him.

“You’re not happy being here.” It was a statement, not a question.

The doppelganger paused a moment before shrugging. “M’not really the happy type.”

“And hanging out with us isn’t helping.”

He thought about arguing, but just a glance out of the corner of his eye made it clear Fujiko wouldn’t accept a lie. He nodded.

“I don’t blame you, y'know,” she remarked after another sip of coffee. “This can be a pretty overwhelming group, especially Lupin. He might be brilliant, but he can be exhausting to be around, even without the… reminders.”

When Blackbird just grumbled, she continued, “So you know what I do when it gets to be too much?”

A slight tilt of the head to show he was listening.

“I leave.”

He stared at her. "You're saying I should…"

"I'm not saying you  _ should _ do anything, just sharing my own experience." Fujiko pointed her mug at him. "You aren't shackled to us, you can do other things if you want to."

"Other things like what?" He scoffed.

"Anything, really. What matters is that you'd be deciding for yourself instead of following what any Lupin wants."

There was silence for a minute.

“You really think that’s a good idea?” the double finally muttered. “Splitting up so soon after gettin’ everybody back together?”

Fujiko sighed and gave a wry smile. “You’ve been hiding so much, I’m not surprised you haven’t noticed. Things  _ are _ getting better, even if it’s slow. We won’t all go to pieces if you decide to act for yourself instead of for the group.”

“I don’t have anywhere to  _ go,” _ he pointed out.

“Does that really matter?”

He fidgeted, still uncomfortable, and Fujiko relented a bit.

“Again, I’m not telling you what you should do, it’s just a thought. Believe it or not, I don’t like watching you be so miserable.”

“I’ll… think about it.”

* * *

Every time Blackbird walked past the cracked bedroom door at night, spotting the heap of bodies and feelings curled up within, it made him think more about what Fujiko said. Things were still rough, but… there was progress. Just how essential was it for him to stay if he felt so trapped? Did he  _ want _ to leave? 

Making his own decisions was still such a strange concept, and he  _ knew _ he needed to work on it now that this world was definitively home, but old habits die hard. Sure, he had managed to go out on his own before, but that was just for a day, and he’d spent the entire time wandering around aimlessly without a clue as to what to do with himself. He wasn’t used to not having a job to do or people to please.

But could he really fix that by staying here?

Jigen was the first he asked about it. Given how little they had actually used spoken words since returning from the other world, the injured marksman could tell something was up the instant his double started the conversation. 

He listened to the half-stumbling explanation without a word, taking a slow drag of the cigarette they were sharing as he let it sink in. 

“Well… not gonna say it wouldn’t be weird not havin’ you around, but I’m not gonna tell you to stay, either.”

“Real helpful,” the double snorted sarcastically.

The snark was ignored. “I’m not gonna fall apart if you do go. You don’t haveta play nurse forever.”

That was what he’d been waiting to hear.

Goemon was next. Blackbird still didn’t feel like he could read the samurai very well, but he had more or less worked out how to start a conversation with him. Find where he’s meditating, get close enough to let him know you’re there without actively interrupting him, and wait for him to reach a point where he feels he can stop to address you. 

As expected, the samurai’s expression gave away nothing of what he felt. 

“I don’t always stay with the group either,” Goemon spoke slowly and thoughtfully. “So I cannot argue without being a hypocrite.”

“But…?”

A hint of worry crossed the samurai’s face as he cast a sidelong glance at Blackbird. “But would this be permanent?”

“Probably not.”

“Then I have no objections.”

Lupin was the one he was most worried about telling. The thief was by far the most devoted to the group, and might therefore be the most hurt by having someone fuck off just to see what it was like. But by now he had all but decided he wanted to try anyway, so after a bit of fretting he managed to get Lupin alone to talk.

It turned out he shouldn’t have bothered worrying. 

“So you wanna take off for a while, huh?” the thief asked before the double had even opened his mouth.

“Who…?”

Lupin shot him a wink. “Nobody told me, I’m just real smart.”

Blackbird scoffed, but sat down anyway. “Okay, so?”

“So…” the thief’s expression softened as he paused for a moment. “I’ll send updates when we move safehouses, if you’ll check in now and again to let us know you’re okay.”

“You… don’t have a problem with it?”

“Look, I’ve always said you’re not a prisoner, and I still mean it. Just… y’know, don’t fall off the face of the earth forever.”

When he didn’t get an answer for a minute, Lupin leaned forward to peer at the double’s face. Eyes flashed to meet his gaze.

“...Guess I’ve got no excuse not to give it a shot then, huh?”

“You don’t _have_ to do anything, if you don’t want to. We’re not gonna be upset, whatever you decide,” the thief smiled, though there was a little sadness there he couldn’t quite hide. 

"Yeah… yeah, alright."


	11. King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much PROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE! Good grief, I can't remember the last time I wrote so much without dialogue. Apologies if it's a little fragmented, transitions can be tricky, but overall I think this came together alright. It's also an actually shorter chapter, rather than me imagining things as too short, because it's really just to wrap some things up.
> 
> Happy end of the arc, everybody! Next is even more feelings, but of a different kind! Sort of! There have been hints towards it, but whatever!
> 
> Also, I wanna say that aside from Blackbird itself, the song for this chapter is one I think fits the story from top to bottom better than any other. It's a good one, I recommend a listen.
> 
> P.S. Who wants more info on the Goemon vs. Goemon fight~? :3c

_ You've got it all  
You lost your mind in the sound  
There's so much more  
You can reclaim your crown  
You're in control  
Rid of the monsters inside your head  
Put all your faults to bed  
You can be king again _

\-- Lauren Aquilina, "King"

* * *

_ The sounds of gunfire quickly became white noise as two blades collided, a legendary weapon meeting its twin. The eyes looking back at him were both familiar and decidedly alien: the eyes of a man he had hated for years, despite only seeing him in person once before.  _

_ They were his own eyes, but the emotions dancing in them were so, so different. _

_ Zantetsuken sang as it clashed against its double, keeping a deadly rhythm as the room fell apart around them with every slash. He was aware of Fujiko still fighting the other bodyguards, but Lupin… He hesitated as he realized both versions of the master thief had disappeared, and was instantly punished by the bite of his enemy’s blade across his side, snapping his focus back to the task at hand with a splash of blood. _

_ Trust the others to take care of themselves.  _

_ He ducked under a powerful swing and felt rather than heard the wall fall away behind him. Allowing himself to be pushed back through the gap, he took the chance to get some distance, landing on the street and pausing to watch his other self follow. _

_ They stared each other down, but needed no words to convey their thoughts. In the other, there was only a drive for power, for pride, caring for no one but himself, his sword, and the orders of his employer. There was more purity of skill, but… nothing to truly protect. _

_ This double could not defeat him, because he had so much more to lose. _

_ Blood hit pavement, parked cars were cut to pieces. The razor-sharp dance raged as their wills and blades clashed in equal measure. But something was changing.  _

_ He could read the confusion in his other self’s face as his movements became less flowing and harder to anticipate, something less elegant than what they had been trained for. He wasn’t surprised; this was something the double could never understand. Years of watching those he cared for most showed him things about the way they fought, settling in his bones at the mere thought of them. The trickery of Fujiko, the ferocity of Jigen, the elasticity of Lupin -- even the extra edge of Blackbird was becoming so familiar, so easy to step into. Someone who never let himself get close to people that way could never grasp how it felt to let others become an extension of who you are. _

_ Those familiar eyes widened as Zantetsuken flashed one more time, and Ishikawa’s blade clattered to the ground, still in the grip of his severed arm. There was no scream, no cry of pain, just raw shock as the double dropped to his knees. The fight was done. _

_ He sheathed Zantetsuken and turned back towards the building without hesitation -- there was no need to kill his enemy now. He had something more important to think about: the flash of red hair in the wind as Fujiko appeared at the edge of the hole, reaching out to help him up, whether he needed it or not.  _

_ He was glad she wasn’t hurt… _

Goemon snapped from the past on instinct, suddenly realizing someone was standing over him. Even while meditating, or sitting deep in reflection, he could almost always tell when a person was approaching -- but not this time. This had to be someone who knew what they were doing, to get so close without alerting him.

He was ready to strike the moment he opened his eyes, but immediately relaxed upon actually seeing who it was.

It had been roughly three months since Blackbird left them, nervous but determined to work things out for himself. He didn’t call or text persay, but every time Goemon returned after spending time back home, Lupin had new pictures to show. None of the double himself, to Lupin’s mild annoyance, but of places -- everything from metropolitan backstreets to breathtaking natural vistas. Shots of dogs for Fujiko, cats for Goemon.

His hands were in his pockets as he gazed down at the samurai, the barest hint of a smile on his face. A silent question, which Goemon answered by shifting slightly on the bench he had been sitting on, making more space beside him. Blackbird sat down and rummaged for a cigarette.

They were in a small park, a block away from the train station where Goemon’s transfer would be arriving. He had just finished another stint with Lupin and Jigen, and was on his way to assist Fujiko with a job before returning to Japan -- a return to normalcy after the weeks of putting all their pieces back together. The station had been too crowded, so he had chosen to spend the time between trains outside, and now he was very glad he did. 

They didn’t talk; they didn’t really need to. Blackbird smoked while Goemon meditated, just basking in one another’s presence for a while. It was… nice, just to sit together after so long, just existing beside each other and silently assessing how they were doing. 

There was still unmistakable sorrow clinging to the double, even now, but he seemed less tired, less strained than before. The essence of a predator ready to strike at any moment was still present under a casual facade, though that was something he suspected was a constant for any version of Jigen, no matter the circumstances. What mattered was that the sharp edge of borderline panic that had been so often present in the doppelganger’s demeanor seemed at least a little bit duller.

Eventually, the time came for Goemon to head back to the train station, and he allowed himself the slightest of sad huffs as he got up from the bench. He bowed a farewell to his companion, received a slight tip of the hat in return, and was on his way. 

Not a word exchanged the entire time.

* * *

Blackbird was away from the gang for seven months, one week, and four days -- not that anyone was counting or anything. It was a… tumultuous time, to put it delicately. 

The first couple months were spent being confused and various levels of miserable, with a lot of wandering around, fretting over whether or not he was wasting time, and drinking. Frankly, he thought it was a small miracle that he didn’t just end up in an alcoholic spiral, but there was always  _ just _ enough desire to keep going to drag him back to his senses. 

Having no instructions, no master but himself… it was  _ weird.  _ He couldn’t really remember the last time he’d operated solely on what he enjoyed: even before his entire life had revolved around the other Lupin, almost everything he did was based on survival. It was hard to remember what he actually  _ liked. _ He poked around movie theaters, museums, and various monuments in an attempt to figure it out, but he felt like he was pressuring himself somehow.

How completely broken must he be as a person to not even know what he enjoyed?

Compounding on the sense of obligation was the grief. Even if he could accept it hadn’t been a  _ good _ relationship, it had still meant everything to him for years, and the loss hurt. More than the guilt of his own betrayal, it was the idea that everything about his old life was effectively gone, for better or worse. Along with the pain and punishments, the soft words and affection he had so desperately craved were gone, snatched away with the man he had destroyed. No bond with the people in this world could ever really fill that hole.

He let himself feel the pain, and slowly, ever so slowly, it started to diminish.

Whenever a place started to feel too hollow, he would always do the same thing: go to the nearest airport or train station, and get a ticket for the next flight or train that was leaving, regardless of the destination. It led to a criss-crossing ramble around the globe, and gradually he found it easier to actually stay somewhere for more than a few days. Hell, he even started talking to people from time to time, when he encountered someone who didn’t irritate him.

Interacting with people could certainly go wrong, though. It was only a few weeks into the journey that Blackbird first crossed paths with one of Jigen’s old enemies, and unfortunately for the stranger, it happened when he was unhappy and not quite sober. He did leave a couple hundreds on the counter to help with cleaning when he left, at least. 

It was actually kind of therapeutic, having an outlet for frustration in the form of random assholes wanting to pick a fight because of some problem they had with Jigen, and the looks on their faces when he reacted with so much more delighted ferocity than they expected were just so satisfying. The only proper texts he would send back to the group were questions about how badly he could hurt any given person, if Jigen actually gave a shit about their fates. Oddly enough, he found these confrontations helped him feel better on particularly rough days, and it wasn’t long before every would-be attacker was greeted by such a malicious smile that it made them hesitate.

The trickier part was when he would meet someone who actually got along with Jigen. Simple brawls he could handle, but when it came to somebody who just wanted a friendly conversation, he was utterly at a loss. He didn’t actually know whether or not to tell the truth about who he was to those people, because who in their right mind would believe “Actually I’m not the Jigen you know, I’m just another version of him from another timeline”? He didn’t want to fuck up any stable relationships by making them think Jigen was making up excuses not to talk to them. So mostly he just stumbled along, nodded a lot, and looked for the first opportunity he had to make a break for it without seeming like a complete asshole. He didn’t doubt the marksman would be getting a lot of confused messages from any old contacts who still knew how to get in touch with him.

His own messages became a sort of game: Blackbird would send pictures of random places, avoiding any obvious landmarks, and sending the names of anyone who came after him in that area, all to see if Lupin and Jigen could work out where he was. It was the only interaction he maintained with them, but it was just enough to remind himself what else he had in this world, even if he didn’t ever manage to actually stump Lupin for more than a few hours.

The process was long, difficult, and often he found himself taking one step forward and two steps back, but…

He could go places. He could try foods. He could meet people. He could  _ choose _ to do things, and it didn’t even matter if he had a reason or not. Shaky as it was, he had an identity, and a life, and he could do whatever he damn well pleased with them. It was still frightening at times, but he was slowly coming to realize… he was actually his own person.

* * *

It was December, a little less than two weeks from Christmas, when Lupin took his crew out for dinner on a whim. He had seen a nice looking place while walking around town, and decided to take advantage of having both Goemon and Fujiko with them. Nothing unusual.

What  _ was _ unusual was the fact that the door to their current hideout was unlocked when they returned. 

Everyone was immediately on-edge, their bright moods evaporating into serious glances as they each drew weapons, creeping forward when Lupin silently pushed the door open enough to judge the entryway as safe. They kept close together, operating as a well-oiled machine, clearing each room and communicating through only looks. 

The lights were on in the living room, the Christmas tree lights had been plugged in, and the television was playing ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. Someone was on the couch, long legs stretched out and ankles crossed on the coffee table; someone who leaned their head back to shoot a smirk at the group in the doorway over the back of the couch.

His hair was a little longer, his posture less tense, but there was no mistaking it. Lupin let out a shaky gasp of laughter and nearly dropped his gun.

“Y’know,” Blackbird remarked with that smirk still firmly in place. “You guys really oughta get better locks for this place.”


	12. Just for Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I ALMOST got it up in time for Christmas, but oh well. Happy holiday fluff/filler before the feels train starts chugging again! Time for the crew to readjust to having an extra person, all while being festive!
> 
> This is another chapter I may go back to edit later maybe possibly if I feel like it. Maybe. But I think it's sufficiently tooth-rotting for now. 
> 
> Now to plot some conflicts...

_ It's that time of year  
Leave all our hopelessnesses aside  
If just for a little while  
Tears stop right here  
I know we've all had a bumpy ride  
I'm secretly on your side _

\-- Imogen Heap, "Just for Now"

* * *

The couch sagged dangerously from the force with which Lupin leapt onto it, all but tackling Blackbird with a hug that knocked him over onto his side. A few seconds of squirming made it clear he had no chance of breaking free from the giggling thief’s grip, so he gave up and relaxed, instead turning his attention to the others.

“You,” he pointed accusingly at Jigen with the arm that wasn’t pinned under Lupin. “We need to talk about why you’ve got so many damn enemies runnin’ around.”

Jigen shrugged unapologetically. “Comes with the job. I bet you had a lot of ‘em, too.”

“Yeah, but I would  _ kill _ mine. You just let ‘em go!”

“Okay kids, no fighting.” Lupin finally stirred, glancing between the two of them. “So help me we are gonna have a nice night, or you’re both grounded.”

They flipped him off in perfect unison, making both Lupin and Fujiko laugh. 

One after another, the group all piled onto the couch, forming their usual cuddly heap as they started bickering over the remote. Blackbird squirmed out from under Lupin to avoid them, but… he didn’t move to actually leave the couch. There was a time when he would have been on the far side of the room, and right up until he left on his extended ‘vacation,’ he probably would have at least needed to move to one of the other chairs for the sake of his own comfort… but not now. Now he was still on the edge, but almost a part of the affectionate group taking up the rest of the couch. 

Any plans the gang may have had for the night were thrown out the window in favor of watching every classic holiday special they could find, with Lupin getting choked up during Miracle on 34th Street and Fujiko silently mouthing the words to How the Grinch Stole Christmas (she knew the entire thing by heart). Nobody actually went to bed, they each just drifted off once the warm feelings had crept all the way through them. They would all be rather stiff in the morning from sleeping in various awkward positions on the couch, but it was worth it.

* * *

"So, when was the last time you really  _ celebrated  _ Christmas?"

"I feel like this is a loaded question."

"It is, but I'm gonna go all-out no matter the answer, just because we've never had a Christmas with you before."

Blackbird leaned against the doorway and shot a scowl down at Lupin, sitting cross-legged on the floor and returning the doppelganger's look with a grin. He couldn’t decide if such an attitude was more flattering or annoying, but admittedly it  _ had _ been a really long time since the holidays had meant… much of anything to him, really.

Back in the other world, Christmas just meant a bonus in his paycheck, a couple opportunities to scope out the competition disguised as parties, and a lot of drinking. He had a feeling Lupin’s idea of Christmas would be very different.

“Whatcha got there?”

Snapped from his thoughts, Blackbird glanced from the mug in his hand to Lupin’s curious face. “Cocoa.”

“Ooh, gimme some?”

He shrugged and handed the thief his mug, then waited. Three, two, one…

“What the fuck?!”

The double couldn’t resist a smirk at the startled and horrified look on Lupin’s face as he spluttered the instant he took a sip.

“That’s more whiskey than cocoa!” Lupin furrowed his brow as he tried to cope with the taste. “Why not just have the booze?!”

“It’s festive,” Blackbird continued to smirk at him.

_ “Festive,” _ Lupin repeated incredulously, but he didn’t pursue the subject. 

Truth be told, Jigen had only been spiking the cocoa a  _ little _ bit… until Blackbird had snuck up behind him and tilted the bottle further, then they’d both just cackled like madmen and added even more. He doubted anyone aside from the two of them could stomach the stuff at this point, so they’d had the decency to make a separate batch to indulge Goemon’s sweet tooth. 

Lupin handed the double the mug back, making a face one more time before returning to the scattered photos on the floor in front of him.

"What're you doing?"

The thief kept looking through pictures as he answered, "Picking my present for Pops this year."

"You give a present to the guy whose entire life revolves around arresting you?" Despite the raised eyebrow, Blackbird wasn't really surprised. He'd had coffee with Zenigata once, after all, and found the inspector to be much more likable than expected.

"Well of  _ course _ I do!" Lupin looked at him like it was obvious. "He's the Holmes to my Moriarty! The Batman to my Joker!"

The marksman had the brief mental image of Zenigata in a cape and cowl, but quickly shook the thought from his head before he could start seeing Lupin in clown makeup.

"So whatcha getting him, then?"

"Well, every year I go through all the stuff I've stolen but haven't sold for one reason or another, and I send one piece to Pops so he can return it. Let him get a win for the holidays, y'know?"

Blackbird scoffed, but he was smiling. "If you really wanted to give him a win, why not just mail yourself? He'd  _ love _ that."

"Ha ha, very funny," Lupin remarked dryly. "I'm a nice guy, but not  _ that _ nice."

The double snorted and turned to leave, but a hand reached out to gently grab his leg.

"Stay and help me pick?" Lupin answered the questioning look and batted his eyes for added effect.

Surely it was just his extended absence making him so weak for that face, or maybe it was the alcohol, or… Never mind.

Grumbling a half-hearted protest, Blackbird sat down on an ottoman rather than join Lupin on the floor, sipping his whiskey-cocoa. The thief grinned anyway, and motioned to a small pile of photos to the side.

"Okay, so those ones I've already ruled out, because they belonged to people who don't deserve to get them back, but  _ these…" _

It was nice to have downtime with Lupin that didn't end in an emotional crisis, but the double couldn't stop glancing at his face when he talked. The firelight didn't help, only accentuating the animation and genuine delight in the thief's every expression, his eyes lit up with different emotions at each treasure he described. Hints of old familiarity struck such a contrast to this openness, it was impossible to look away.

Admittedly, the confusing tangle of feelings surrounding the gang -- Lupin especially -- had been one of the things Blackbird had only barely touched on during his time away. He had needed some breathing room, and there was nothing wrong with that, but it did mean he was now stuck with that box of emotions trying so desperately to burst open every damn time he got a quiet moment. At one point, a few months in, he had dared to look inside, then promptly closed it again and swept it as far under the metaphorical rug as he possibly could. He was still too afraid of what had been inside.

* * *

By Christmas morning, the atmosphere was so delightfully festive, it was almost sickening. Lupin had taken it upon himself to stick mistletoe in strategic locations throughout the house, catching his significant others as often as he could and sometimes being caught himself. It took only one panicked look from Blackbird for the group to have mercy and leave him out of it, but no one else was ever truly safe from holiday kisses. Not that they were really complaining, and the look on Lupin's face every time the tables were turned on him made it all more than worthwhile.

Zenigata was built in snowman form in the front yard, entirely too much eggnog was consumed, and an impromptu snowball fight led to Lupin, Goemon, and Fujiko fleeing for their lives when Jigen and Blackbird teamed up on them. It was snow, and sweets, and warming fingers and toes by the fireplace. It would have been perfectly wholesome if not for all the alcohol, weaponry, and the fact that any given situation had a chance to devolve into either a fight or sex, but it was still nice.

The gang was slowly feeling out just how much had and hadn’t changed for their interdimensional companion during his time away, approaching new situations with a certain wariness until they knew how he would react. It earned a few raised eyebrows from Blackbird, but he seemed to be just as unsure as they were a lot of the time, making no argument against the extra caution. While he still needed to hang back at times, it was much rarer for him to actually leave the room, sticking around to watch the others with varying levels of confusion and amusement. Certain actions or loud exclamations would still make him flinch, and sometimes he would slip away with that hunted look in his eyes, but now he would come back on his own after a while, subdued but not hostile. He would accept small touches now, and even seemed relaxed by them to an extent, though he still shied away from anything truly cuddly. 

There were things that would never truly heal, but there was a lot of progress.

Giving each other gifts was always a nightmare. As international thieves, if there was something they really wanted, they would either steal it or steal the money to buy it, which didn’t leave a lot of options for Christmas presents. The only things that would really matter were personal and sentimental, and well… more than half of them had a lot of difficulty with anything personal or sentimental. 

With Jigen, this kind of gift would usually come in the form of promises: written agreements to do or not do something at a future time of the recipient’s choosing. For most people, this might seem like a cop-out, but with him there was never any avoidance or loopholes, no conveniently forgetting agreements. These promises were opportunities the other three had long since learned to value as if the paper was made of gold.

Goemon tended to go in a more practical direction, often giving things like small knives to be concealed on one’s person. He focused on keeping them safe through their very unsafe lifestyle, even when he wasn’t with them to protect them in person, making what might seem like simple tools an expression of how much he cared.

Lupin and Fujiko were both more frivolous (to nobody’s surprise). Favorite indulgences and expensive toys that were entirely superfluous were almost always part of their gifts, and every year Lupin seemed to try and outdo himself while Fujiko was content to stick to what she knew they appreciated. It could be annoying when the thief got too out of control, but neither Jigen or Blackbird were going to say no to an anti-tank gun. 

But for all his absurdities, Lupin did have one gift to give that he almost seemed  _ nervous _ about.

Blackbird turned the small box over in his hands for a minute, shooting a suspicious look at the thief. 

“If this is a glitter bomb or something, so fuckin’ help me…”

“It’s not! Have you no faith in me?!” Lupin regretted the words the instant they left his mouth, as four pairs of eyes fixed him with identical looks of skepticism. 

He huffed in annoyance and folded his arms across his chest. “Just open it, c’mon!”

With a heavy sigh, the double finally tore the paper away and tossed it onto the pile nearby, opening the box with deliberate slowness just to make Lupin hold his breath in anticipation.

But when he actually saw what was inside, he froze.

Fujiko and Jigen both leaned in to peer over the doppelganger’s shoulder when he continued to act like a statue, and even Goemon craned his neck to look. Lupin’s eyes were wide as he waited for some kind of reaction.

A tie pin might not seem very significant, but it was the shape that said it all. The shape of a single feather. 

“Um, that’s…” Blackbird tilted his head down to hide more of his face. How was he getting so emotional over a little piece of metal? “That’s…”

Lupin’s expression had gone from worried to relieved to mischievous in about half a second as he leaned in. “Is that a smile? Don’t hide it! Lemme see!”

“Shut up, or I’ll stab you in the fucking eye with this thing!” 

“You’re still smiling!”

“C’mere you little shit!”

Watching the scuffle, Fujiko caught first Jigen’s eye, then Goemon’s. The three of them exchanged a look, relaxed and contented despite the yelling, and silently leaned in to clink their glasses together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the risk of outing myself as someone who almost never drinks, I admit I actually don't know if a combination of whiskey and hot cocoa would be any good. :|a   
The idea of the overly-spiked cocoa was from Liz_Tudor, and I just kinda guessed that it might be distasteful.


	13. What You Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm alive after all! This chapter is mostly setting things up for what's to come, but stuff will actually happen soon. 
> 
> I'm still bewildered how many people have read and enjoyed this, and I'm glad it does make people happy. I suppose in a series like this, where canon gets bizarre as all hell, this plot isn't really so weird after all.

_Maybe next year I'll have no time  
_ _To think about the questions to address  
_ _Am I the one to try to stop the fire?_

_I wouldn't test you, I'm not the best you could have attained  
Why try anything?  
I will get there, just remember I know_

\-- Two Door Cinema Club, "What You Know"

* * *

There’s a corner of the internet for everything, and Lupin was no exception. While his heists didn’t always make the front page, he was more than infamous enough to have a number of active online forums dedicated to him and his exploits, full of would-be detectives, curious adventure lovers, and fans who just thought he was cool. They discussed everything from guessing where the thief would turn up next to speculating how he pulled off different jobs, though some of the most popular pages were those dedicated to pictures of him and his crew.

But when photos came out from Lupin’s first heist of the new year, the forums  _ exploded. _

The most prominent shot was of the thief standing on the roof of the bank he had just robbed, photographed mid-taunt to the police gathered below. But what drew so much attention wasn’t Lupin himself for once -- it was who was behind him. 

The thief was flanked by two identical Jigens.

Speculation immediately started flying as to what the picture meant, and theories that it was just another member of the gang in disguise were quickly debunked by other shots from the heist, showing both Goemon and Fujiko elsewhere at the time the photo was taken. This was a fifth person, someone different from Lupin’s usual accomplices. 

One of the first mysteries to solve in the hunt for the newcomer’s identity was figuring out which Jigen was real. The picture was heavily analyzed for clues, zooming in and comparing every detail to find  _ some _ sort of hint, but the only differences anyone could find between the two was that one had slightly longer hair than the other, and the shape of their tie pins. There was no evidence of Jigen wearing a feather-shaped pin before, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything (or it meant everything, depending on who you asked), turning the question into a hotly debated topic. 

People delved into every record they could find, legally or otherwise, and the buzz gained steam as they found evidence that this newcomer  _ had _ appeared before, just not in any way that put him in the public eye. Police reports showed he had been present for several small jobs in the spring of the previous year, but had then disappeared until this most recent heist. Where he was in the interim was another mystery that law enforcement couldn’t help with; but enough legwork from regular people filled in the gaps.

Here and there from all over the world, a handful of fans came forward with everything from third-hand stories to photos they took themselves, documenting Jigen in places he couldn’t possibly have been because he was pulling jobs with Lupin thousands of miles away. The only explanation that made any sense was that this was the mysterious fifth gang member. But no matter how hard people looked, there was no pattern, no hint as to what purpose he had in any of those places, leading to a prevailing (albeit not very strong) theory that he had been in hiding or on the run from something.

Either way, there wasn't long to dwell on it before another heist occurred. This time the internet was watching carefully, and sure enough, again Lupin had two Jigens backing him up, once again identical except for that feather-shaped pin. 

During the escape, the pair lagged behind to shoot at the pursuing police, and Lupin called back to them, his words recorded clear as day on multiple video clips:

"Jigen! Blackbird! C'mon, we're leaving!"

And now he had a name. But knowing what to call him didn't give any clues as to who he was or where he came from, and aside from new discussions about what the moniker could mean, no one was any closer to solving the mystery.

* * *

Lupin of course found the whole thing hilarious. Reading the numerous theories about Blackbird was quickly becoming a favorite pastime for him, always making him snicker to himself as he watched people around the world wracking their brains to figure it out. To him, the best part was that the truth was so outlandish, he could come out and announce it and almost no one would believe him -- sort of like the ultimate con.

Now if only the others could enjoy the madness as much as he did. Jigen and Goemon were infuriatingly uncaring about the entire affair, while Fujiko just shrugged and said, “Well of course they’re confused” as if it was no different from the attention they usually got. 

Blackbird’s reaction was… a bit more severe, but understandably so. 

When Lupin had showed him that first picture that captured so much attention, the double almost had a panic attack on the spot, as if the photo had been of a gruesome dental procedure rather than just a shot of the three of them. It took a few minutes of Lupin quietly repeating that he wasn’t upset, that he’d been so loud because he  _ liked _ the picture, and that nobody was in trouble before the doppelganger had managed to pull himself back together, grumbling an embarrassed apology. 

“Do you wanna tell me what happened, or…?” Lupin had asked, and Blackbird heaved a sigh.

“Just… We did things a lot more lowkey than you guys. If any of us were in the news, it meaned we had  _ really _ fucked up, and… Well, y’know.”

The thief had wrinkled his nose in distaste, grumbling, “Figures he never would’ve wanted anything to be fun.”

Blackbird had just shrugged uncomfortably, and that was the end of the conversation.

Back in the present, Lupin leaned back in his chair and frowned at the ceiling, folding his arms behind his head. Should he have waited longer to start pulling jobs with the double again? He’d been so thrilled by the prospect that he hadn’t really thought to ask, and nobody had made any arguments, so he’d just assumed they were all on board. But he needed to actually use his head now, because his admittedly overbearing personality could become a trigger at the worst moments if he wasn’t paying attention to his actions.

It was almost kind of funny: the curious folks of the world had their puzzle involving Blackbird, and the master thief had his own. 

“Lupin.”

Speak of the devil. The thief gave a questioning hum as he leaned back farther to look upside-down at the double standing in the doorway. 

“Stall all you want, but it’s still your turn to do dishes.”

Lupin wilted. “I wasn’t trying to get out of it! I was just looking at the forums for a minute, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh.” Blackbird was unimpressed by the thief’s pitiful expression, though his gaze did flicker to the computer screen. “They’re still freaking out over me, huh?”

“Oh of course they are! There’s a theory now that you’re some kind of alien, which depending on your definition of ‘alien,’ you  _ could _ actually be…”

“Except I wasn’t the one doing the abducting,” the doppelganger remarked dryly, and Lupin flashed him a cheeky grin.

Blackbird scoffed and crossed the room to flop down on the couch, assuming the talk to be over, but Lupin’s eyes were still on him, suddenly much more serious than before.

“Hey,” the thief spoke again after a moment, “Did you wanna take a break for a while?”

The double frowned in confusion. “Isn’t that what you were doing when I got back?”

“Well yeah, we usually take the holidays off, but this would be more to lay low for a bit. Let this attention blow over.”

“Lupin, you love attention.”

“Yeah,  _ I  _ do, but you don’t!” the thief huffed. 

There was silence for a few seconds as they stared at each other, before finally Blackbird resumed an unreadable expression and shrugged.

“Do what you want, I don’t--”

“Oh no!” Lupin cut him off, getting to his feet. “None of this ‘I don’t have an opinion’ shit again. I saw you almost shoot that cameraman last time; you gotta be feeling  _ something!" _

"I didn't actually fire, though."

The thief’s scowl only deepened. “That’s not the point.”

He let things go quiet again, though he could see the almost imperceptible tension in the double’s posture. Wanting things and admitting discomfort were two rather different hurdles, particularly when work was involved. Even Jigen had taken a while to admit his own weaknesses, as though it was something to be ashamed of, so Lupin could only imagine how important it had been to ignore personal feelings and follow orders in the other world. But that wasn't how he ran things here. Better to adjust strategies and keep everyone happy than to force them to suck it up and ignore their own limits.

Finally Blackbird stirred again, grimacing.

"I don't mind the high-profile jobs, and nobody has to take a break over me, but…"

"But…?" Lupin prompted quietly when the double seemed reluctant to continue.

"But… do you really need both of us front and center with you all the time?"

The thief shrugged. "Not really, no. You wanna hang back and do more support stuff?"

For a moment Blackbird just stared at him, startled by such ready acceptance, but finally he found words again. "Doesn't have to be all the time. I just…"

"It's  _ fine," _ Lupin insisted, flashing his most disarming smile. "I can work that in easy. In fact, I'll go do that right--"

_ "Lupin." _

It was like a strange sort of surround-sound, hearing the same voice snap at him from either side of the room, stopping the thief in his tracks. Jigen had appeared in the doorway, and he and Blackbird were both leveling a pointed stare at him that could probably make children cry.

"Dishes. Go."

Lupin grumbled, but accepted his defeat and sulked out of the room, back towards the kitchen.

They watched him go in stony silence, but it quickly melted once the thief was out of sight. Blackbird slumped back with a sigh that drew a questioning look from Jigen as he too sat down.

The double gestured at the doorway Lupin had disappeared through. "Why's he so  _ nice _ to me?"

"Hell if I know," Jigen shrugged. "I'm still trying to figure out how he can tolerate  _ me, _ let alone both of us."

That earned a huff of laughter, and he raised an eyebrow at his doppelganger.

"He  _ tolerates _ you. Is that what we're calling it now?" A wicked smirk pulled at Blackbird's mouth.

"Oh shut up."

"Hey, not my fault you guys get so loud when you're  _ tolerating _ each other."

"I  _ will _ kill you."

"You'll  _ try." _

Jigen started to snap a comeback, but the second they made eye contact, they both paused, something occurring to them at the same moment and drawing bewildered frowns to their identical faces. The relaxed teasing, choosing to sit together, and the fact that it all felt  _ normal _ made something click.

Were they...  _ friends? _ How the fuck did that happen? 

Somehow, despite all the casual conversations and exchanged comforts, they’d both assumed they would wind up at each other’s throats eventually, just because they were both Jigen. If they’d never been able to like themselves, then certainly they’d hate another version of them, right? That just made sense. The fact that they had gotten along in the beginning was a matter of settling in, of solving problem after problem for the sake of the group, rather than actually bonding. Because of course they wouldn’t actually bond; they were two copies of a broken person, full of far too much self-loathing to be comfortable in their own skin, let alone with each other.

But here they were, realizing they had stumbled across the border into friendship territory, and neither of them had any idea when or why it had happened.

If they could like each other, then… was that some kind of roundabout self-esteem? 

They stared at one another for a minute, a perfect reflection of shock and sudden vulnerability as their minds danced along the same confused track. Finally Jigen sighed and leaned his head in his hands.

“The others are gonna call us fucking stupid for not seeing this before, huh?”

“Only if we tell ‘em about it,” Blackbird shot a look at the doorway, where the sounds of the radio could faintly be heard from the kitchen. 

Silence. 

“...We  _ are _ really fucking stupid, though,” the double continued, slumping in his seat.

“I think we already knew that.”

Blackbird grumbled affirmation, and Jigen glanced sidelong at him for a moment.

“You know, back then…” he let the doppelganger look up to make sure they were on the same page. “When I said I didn’t hate you, I didn’t think…”

“I know. ...You’ve got a weird habit of accidentally making friends.”

Jigen just groaned and threw one arm over his eyes to signal he was done with the entire situation for now, which suited the double just fine. He had his own problems to worry about.

They were friends, but would the marksman still feel that way if those locked up feelings kept fighting to be let loose? If he…

Never mind.


	14. Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have no idea how utterly STUCK I got writing this bit. I'm still not entirely pleased with it, but the good news is I have a good chunk of stuff planned out next that should flow through my brain a bit easier. 
> 
> Writer's block's a bitch and a half, boy howdy.

_Been blamed for everything since I was born  
_ _I do my best work when I'm doing wrong  
I might be wrecking like a train  
But I know that you're gonna ride anyway  
_

\-- Parov Stelar, "Trouble"

* * *

The plan was fairly simple, but required splitting into two groups: one with Lupin, and one with Fujiko. Their target was one of the gifts at a fancy wedding between two mafia families, a valuable painting kept under lock and key during the actual festivities -- not that lock and key ever stopped them. Lupin would take two of the gang and pretend to be caught mid-heist, causing what the thief called “a ruckus” and wreaking havoc to draw as much attention as possible, while Fujiko and her partner would already be inside at the party, ready to snatch the prize. It was just a matter of deciding who should go where.

Fujiko had a suggestion of who she wanted to work with, and since it happened to be the person who had the best chance of stopping her from double-crossing them, nobody argued.

Nobody argued, but that didn’t mean he was happy about it.

“Here,” Fujiko placed a glass on the table as she sat down, sipping her own drink. “It’s quality stuff.”

Blackbird grumbled, but took the drink anyway. Unsurprisingly, sitting through a wedding ceremony with Fujiko and a fuckton of strangers hadn’t done wonders for his mood, but he’d stuck to her side and kept his mouth shut for the most part, which apparently deserved a reward of alcohol. 

If nothing else, the ceremony had at least been a good opportunity for him to glance around and get an idea of the security, making mental notes of all the musclebound lugs in suits scattered around the shadows. Most of them seemed focused on protecting the several high-profile gang bosses in attendance, and while they looked competent, there was nothing to suggest they would be a significant problem. He knew their type.

Crossing to the reception hall didn’t reveal anything new either, so after one quick text to Lupin signalling that things were good to go, it became a waiting game. A really annoying waiting game.

"So why me?" He finally broke the silence, drawing Fujiko's gaze and a confused hum. "You could've picked any of us for this. Why me?"

Understanding dawned on her face, and she laughed. "Because I know how big syndicates work. You probably have more experience dealing with this kind of thing than Jigen and Goemon combined."

He hated to admit it, but she was right. From deals to double-crosses to just keeping up appearances, the other Lupin had attended many events like this over the years, and Blackbird had always been there, the guard dog at his side. He didn't like the fancy atmosphere then, and he didn't like it now, but he knew how to lay low and pay attention when it counted.

It made sense to have him working with Fujiko here, but it was still… strange. He had long since come to grips with the differences between her and Mine, just like Lupin and Goemon with their doubles, but of all of them she was still the most similar to her other self, and it could rub him the wrong way at times. He and Ishikawa had always been enemies on a professional level, with the boss tormenting them by offering their jobs to the other when they failed, but with Mine there was another level to their animosity. They had been the crime lord’s only two constant lovers, so it was always a battle for his favor and attention even when he wasn’t intentionally pitting them against each other. While he knew that this wasn’t the case anymore, he kept finding himself watching her, looking for any weakness or ulterior motives in her actions even when there was no cause for suspicion.

“I’m used to men staring at me, but I wouldn’t have expected it from you.”

Blackbird flinched, realizing he had been looking her way while zoning out, and he immediately tore his gaze away from her.  He could feel Fujiko still studying him. Did she want an actual response?

“...What?”

“Just wondering if you look so uncomfortable because of me or the party,” Fujiko remarked matter-of-factly. 

“Both.”

“That’s fair.”

They were quiet for a moment, nursing their drinks, until Fujiko's expression twitched into a frown and Blackbird followed her gaze.

"Got a problem with the bride?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, she's a nice enough kid, all things considered, but…" Fujiko paused with a grimace. "Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, I can't get used to that dress."

To her surprise, Blackbird hummed agreement. "The short skirt only works if it's a zillion fucking degrees. Wedding dresses ain't supposed to look like that."

"Exactly!" She exclaimed, leaning forward. "It could be okay for a really casual wedding, but with something this fancy and traditional, it feels…"

"Trashy?"

"I was going to say immature, but…"

"Trashy."

A smile played on Fujiko's face, and she started to ask his opinion on the bridesmaids dresses when someone else caught her eye, making her smile turn fake and sweet.

"Brother of the bride, next in line to take over the family business," she muttered under her breath, waiting for the barest hint of a nod to show Blackbird understood before she turned to the man approaching their table.

“Antonio! It’s been forever! How are you?” she got up to kiss the man on the cheek as Blackbird exchanged a cursory glance with the two large thugs following behind.

Deeming them to be no immediate threat, he let his attention stray back to Fujiko as she made smalltalk with the mafia heir. Batting her eyes and angling herself to take advantage of the low neckline on her dress, the façade of playful seductress was in full swing, making the double prickle in distaste on instinct despite knowing why the act was necessary.

Though… something was different this time. When he thought about it, he realized he wasn’t really annoyed at Fujiko for being so fake, but at the situation that forced her to do it. He found he preferred talking to the real side of her, rather than hating the mask she put on. Sure, he still didn’t trust her as far as he could throw her, but being stuck at this party was made a lot better by being there with Fujiko Mine, and that was something he never thought he’d say.

He tensed imperceptibly as he was snapped back to reality by the mob heir’s gaze turning away from Fujiko’s body, moving to him with curiosity.

“So you must be Lupin the third’s new friend who’s making such a stir.”

Alarm bells went off in Blackbird’s head immediately. He’d been under the impression that only the people crazy enough to call themselves Lupin’s fans were discussing his existence, and no one else was really paying attention. Maybe it had been naive, but he’d hoped to stay under the radar for longer than this.

He simply tilted his head in a nod.

“That’s a pretty wild group you’ve fallen in with,” Antonio remarked with a sharp smile. “But I gotta ask… why that face? I’d imagine it comes with a lotta enemies.”

“It’s the one I was born with.”

The heir raised an eyebrow. “Really? How interesting…”

He caught a worried look flicker across Fujiko’s face -- it seemed she hadn’t been expecting this either -- but she quickly moved in to draw attention away from him again. Mercifully, Antonio only appeared to have a passing interest in Blackbird, and was more than happy to let Fujiko distract him with chat about his sister and new brother in-law, though the double’s fingers kept wanting to twitch towards his gun the entire time. With the promise of at least one dance with Fujiko before the end of the night, the heir  _ finally _ left to talk to someone else, casting one last look at Blackbird that made him bristle internally.

"I knew gangs would start noticing the rumors, but I didn't think they'd be taking it seriously so soon." Fujiko voiced the double's thoughts with a sigh, once the men were out of earshot. "And here I thought coming with me would keep you from getting too much attention."

"Wait, that's why you really brought me along?"

"I can have multiple reasons."

He looked at her, perplexed, but before he could further question her about her motives, something outside the building exploded with enough force to shatter half the windows.

“And that’s our cue.”

As the guests all leapt out of their seats in alarm, two figures slipped to the back of the hall as quickly as possible without drawing attention to themselves. They had a very limited window before people would move to secure the more expensive gifts and/or start looking for the pair of them because of their known association with Lupin, so they had to use every second. But they knew the layout of the building, and Fujiko had  _ acquired _ the passcodes needed to get through the security doors ahead of time, so by the time anyone thought to look for them, they were already at the room where the painting waited.

A group of goons ran down the hall only to be met with gunfire from around the corner, causing Fujiko to poke her head out with a reminder.

"Try not to kill any of them, okay? We don't need these gangs getting even angrier than they already are."

"Yeah yeah, I know," Blackbird grumbled, taking out legs and arms rather than heads and hearts.

Unfortunately, keeping the death count low didn’t seem to be something the gangsters were thinking about. One of the thugs snarled in frustration as they were kept from advancing, and in a moment of madness, pulled an object out of his jacket. Said object was immediately recognized by the gunslinger around the corner, making him pause as he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. They weren’t  _ that _ stupid, were they? They couldn’t be…

Apparently they were, as the man took the object and yanked a pin from the top, much to the alarm of some of the thugs around him as well as their enemy, watching from the corner. The revolver fired, the gangster cried out in pain, and the grenade clattered to the floor moments before going off with a deafening bang that shook the walls.

“What was that?!” Fujiko yelled from inside the room where she was still carefully securing the painting.

Blackbird slowly peered back around the corner. The smoke was clearing to reveal a mostly collapsed hallway, filled with rubble and less-than-healthy-looking goons. “So hypothetically, what if some of ‘em did die?”

“What did you  _ do?!” _

_ “I _ didn’t do shit! One of the assholes was dumb enough to bring a bomb down here!”

_ “Indoors?!” _

He gave her a baffled shrug in answer as he slipped into the room, to which she simply sighed in exasperation and clicked the latches closed on the case holding the painting. 

“Well, it wouldn’t be the stupidest thing we’ve seen henchmen do,” Fujiko muttered mostly to herself. “At least that’ll make it harder to follow us. Let’s go.”

No matter how she grumbled, there was a glint in the femme fatale’s eye that Blackbird immediately recognized. It was one he often saw on Lupin in the midst of a heist, signalling that the thief was having the time of his life despite any danger or wrenches in the plan. Fujiko and Lupin… they really were made for each other. Them and their stupid boyfriends.

Barging out an emergency door, the instant they stepped into the fresh air they could already hear Lupin’s voice, loud and excited over the noise of chaos. A number of cars were in cleanly-cut pieces, wounded thugs were scattered on the ground, and every piece of cover was riddled with bullet holes -- Lupin’s group had been having fun. More importantly, they were holding everyone’s attention, so it should be a clean run to--

“I knew it!”

Or not.

The second they turned, it was a stand-off. Four goons and Blackbird pointing guns at one another, while Fujiko calmly raised an eyebrow at Antonio, as though there was nothing at all unusual about the scenario. 

“As soon as Lupin showed up, I knew you were up to something,” the mafia heir snarled.

“Aw, don’t be a sore loser,” tutted Fujiko. “Besides, what a story your sister will be able to tell about her wedding! We made it so much more exciting!”

Beside her, Blackbird snorted in amusement without shifting his aim, but Antonio wasn’t as appreciative. “A story about how you  _ almost _ robbed us, maybe. Set it down nice and easy, and  _ maybe _ I won’t have you shot.”

To his surprise, Fujiko just laughed. “Oh honey, you’re out of your league. Why do you think I brought the mean one?”

The only hint of what was about to happen was the smirk that twitched onto Blackbird’s face a moment before all hell broke loose. Fujiko kicked one of her high heels off her foot, launching it at Antonio’s face before the double took advantage of the chaos to open fire, sending the gangsters all scrambling for cover behind one of the remaining intact cars. A few more shots for good measure, and the thieves were off and running before there was time to fight back. 

Fujiko was still laughing as they leapt into the car stashed a block away for the escape, and something about the pure joy was infectious, even as Blackbird turned to shoot at anyone dumb enough to follow them. 

“Because I'm the mean one, huh?” he smirked at her as she started the car.

“Multiple reasons.”


	15. Little Black Submarines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna level with you: I am currently improvising with this more than at any previous point, and I hope it isn't too painfully obvious. I have the emotional arc mostly worked out, but as for like... a dramatic plotline, I'm just bouncing around trying to settle on something. We'll see what happens, since right now your guess is as good as mine!
> 
> And one more thing. Guys. You guys. Over 700 hits? How? Why? I know a lot of that is the same people rereading, but if anything that's more flattering, that folks wanna come back to this over and over.

_ Oh, can it be  
The voices calling me  
They get lost and out of time  
I should've seen it glow  
But everybody knows  
That a broken heart is blind _

\-- The Black Keys, "Little Black Submarines"

* * *

The slow, steady thud of his own heartbeat. 

One, two breaths… 

Everything felt heavy, an ache radiating along the left side of his body. 

Three, four breaths…

Something about this was wrong. He didn’t remember going to bed; he was… out with the others? What happened?

Five, six breaths…

It was almost impossibly difficult, but he finally managed to pry his eyes open, squinting through the blurriness until his vision could focus. Darkness, but he could make out wooden beams running across the ceiling -- so he was indoors. 

He… hadn’t been indoors though. All five of them had been outside, walking from the bar where they’d been spending some of the money from selling the painting they stole last week, and… Did he pass out? He hadn’t thought he was  _ that _ drunk, and though it would explain the blinding headache, there was just as much pain along his left arm, side, and leg that didn’t feel like it came from a simple fall.

Lupin. Something happened with Lupin. But what? Was everyone okay?

At least part of that question was answered as a door opened nearby and a shadow slipped into the dark room, casting a familiar silhouette that gave him away even before he walked up to the bedside.

“Morning, sunshine,” Jigen remarked, speaking quietly enough to avoid making his double’s headache worse. “How ya feeling?”

Blackbird grimaced and reached up to touch his head, pausing as his fingers brushed along a bandage. “Like shit, but I’ve had worse. What… uh, what happened?”

Even in the dark, he could tell Jigen was frowning. “You don’t remember that car hitting you?”

A foggy piece of memory jerked back to life at those words. The screech of tires, the blinding flash of headlights… the car veered sharply off the road, speeding up as it rushed towards Lupin. He had been the closest, the only one near enough to shove the thief out of the way; then the vague sensation of his feet leaving the ground, thinking "oh shit," and then… nothing. Waking up here, in the dark.

"It's… fuzzy," he admitted.

"I'm not surprised, your head cracked the damn windshield."

The double paused to think. “That was no accident, right? He was going right for us…”

“Yeah, but we caught him. Lupin and Fujiko are questioning him now.” 

“Where?”

“Another hidey hole on the other side of town. Nobody should know ‘bout this place.” The tension in Jigen’s posture suggested he was still concerned anyway.

“And what about Goemon?”

“Here.”

Blackbird flinched so violently at the voice in the darkness, it caused a sharp spike of pain in his side that nearly made him fall out of bed, Jigen ducking to grab him at the last moment. If he squinted, the double could  _ just _ make out a shape nearby that he had assumed was furniture.

“Fucking Christ, Goemon! How long’ve you been there?!”

“Haven’t been able to make him leave since we got here,” Jigen explained, the smirk practically audible in his voice.

The shape that was Goemon shrugged.

“Alright, well I was just makin’ sure you hadn’t croaked on us,” Jigen sighed. “Gotta put groceries away.”

The shadow waited for Blackbird to make a small noise of affirmation before turning for the door, though he left it open just a crack when he left, presumably in case Goemon chose to follow. Steps creaked along the wood floor, and he was gone.

For a minute, it was quiet. 

“You don’t have to stay here, y’know.”

Goemon shifted slightly. “Do you want me to leave?”

Ouch. Maybe it was the concussion, but somehow that was an incredibly difficult question to answer.

“I don’t think I’m very good company right now, that’s all,” Blackbird sighed, running a hand down his face. “If you wanna go, I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna die or anything.”

Despite his own words, the double felt a twinge of disappointment as Goemon got to his feet and padded across the room, only to have that disappointment turn to confusion when the samurai stopped beside the bed.

He couldn't see Goemon's face in the dark, but he could picture that steady, patient gaze so well that it didn't matter.

"Do you want me to leave?" He repeated.

There was no demand in his tone, no push or impatience. Just a calm desire for a yes or no answer, and yet somehow it made Blackbird curl in on himself subconsciously, as if he’d done something wrong.

Once again, they were doing this dance. Goemon was waiting, a picture of patience, while the doppelganger fussed like an indecisive child. He hated this; why was it still so hard to give a straight answer to this man? His head hurt, his body hurt, he hated being fragile, and the thought of being stuck alone in this dark room was making his pulse pick up, drawing a noise of wordless frustration from his throat. 

At least the darkness was hiding the look on his face.

“...No.”

Goemon just nodded in response, but instead of returning to where he’d been sitting before, he lowered himself to the floor on the spot, his back against the side of the bed. If it didn’t hurt so much to move, he would be in the perfect spot to let Blackbird pat his head -- not that he would. But having the samurai so close was admittedly a comfort to his pain-addled mind, soothing some of the worry about the gang’s safety that was buzzing around his head. Maybe… maybe he could get some sleep like this.

* * *

He wasn’t sure just how much time had passed when Goemon woke him, asking if he wanted to be there to hear what Lupin and Fujiko had to report. His head was foggy, but after forcing himself to sit up and take some painkillers, he was determined to stay in the loop. <strike>He wouldn’t get left behind.</strike>

They all crowded into the bedroom, dragging chairs from other rooms and turning on one small lamp to let them see without hurting Blackbird’s aching head too much.

“So, turns out they’re mad about the wedding,” Lupin got right to the point, sighing.

“And their reaction is to send some asshole to run you over?” 

The thief shrugged. "Looks like it. But what worries me is they must know we're in town, so I bet they're watching all the hospitals in the area."

"We don't need a hospital," Blackbird objected, but all it took was Fujiko nudging his side to make him hiss in pain.

"Nope, you need a doctor."

Before the double could argue with her, Jigen interjected, "Either way we shouldn't stay here, right?"

"Yeah, but we'll have to be careful not to pick up a tail on the way," Lupin gently scratched at his face as he mulled it over. "And we gotta be smart about how we travel…"

Blackbird tried to sit up again. "It's not that bad! I can still go with you!"

"...What?"

Four pairs of eyes turned to the double, suddenly registering the anxiety in his posture and voice. 

“What do you mean?” Lupin tilted his head slightly. “Why wouldn’t you come with us?”

Now it was Blackbird’s turn to be confused, as some of the raw panic faded. “I… can’t work, and would slow you down?”

Jigen sat up a little, realization seeming to dawn on him as he shot a pointed look at Lupin in a silent exchange. Fujiko and Goemon glanced between them in confusion, Lupin’s expression turned stony, and Blackbird wished he could sink through the mattress and out of existence.

He knew. Of course Jigen knew, there was no way he wouldn’t. Right in the middle of their time dreaming each other’s lives, he had been along for the ride when Blackbird had been caught by enemies of the other world’s Lupin, and suffered through a  _ bad _ couple of days before being recovered. The crime lord had him tended to at headquarters for a few days, both to make sure he lived and to keep him close until it could be confirmed that he hadn’t talked, but after that…

_ “It’s too dangerous to keep you here. Go rest and recover, and I’ll see you in a few weeks.” _

The words had been spoken so gently, so rationally, but they still hurt. To be given a sizable amount of money, a pat on the head, and then sent away until he could be useful again was a slap in the face, no matter how normal and sensible he’d thought it was at the time. Being gone that long was so anxiety-inducing it was almost unbearable; but that was just how things worked. It was for safety as much as anything else, after all.

But assuming this gang put self-preservation first was a stupid, knee-jerk reaction.

"I'd forgotten the other me didn't let his people stick around when they got hurt," Lupin grumbled. "But not us. Nobody's getting left behind, okay?"

The doppelganger made a mumbling noise of understanding, but buried himself in blankets to hide from the embarrassment.

Lupin looked to Jigen questioningly, and got a nod in response to signal it was probably okay to keep going with the planning. By the time Blackbird re-emerged from the covers, Goemon had moved from his place on the floor to sit on the mattress as well, with just enough space between the double and himself to keep things from being uncomfortable. Having him there… wasn’t such a bad thing.

* * *

They ultimately decided to go by car. The mafia was probably watching nearby hospitals and airports, but even if they had local police in their pocket, they couldn’t watch every road out of town. It would just take a little subtlety to slip away, and Lupin’s gang were old hands at being a  _ little _ subtle.

On the outside, the getaway vehicle looked like a delivery van for a florist, complete with Lupin and Jigen up front in disguise -- but the back was a different story. No shelves or boxes, it had been turned into a sort of nest where Fujiko and Goemon would make sure the sulking Blackbird’s condition didn’t get worse in transit. He was bundled into a grumpy blanket burrito, wrapped as tight as was safe with his arm and leg splinted to the best of the group’s abilities, and was mercifully focused on just feeling like shit rather than complaining about it.

Traveling with a concussion  _ sucked. _ Any little bump or rattle on the road could cause more pain, more nausea that almost made him wish he  _ had _ been left behind. 

Being an emotional disaster in front of these people was something he was more or less getting used to, but being so physically fragile was a newer experience -- and not one he liked. He was used to hiding away and isolating himself when injured, left alone to lick his wounds until he was able to come back; not this… actual  _ care. _ Sure, he'd been there to see them tend to Jigen in the aftermath of the confrontation with the other world, but the idea that it could extend to the double himself somehow hadn't registered. He was different; outside in some way.

But then a tight turn threw his unsteady sense of balance, and a solid warmth blocked him from falling. The small amount of light they had was just enough to see a dash of pink on Goemon’s face, making the doppelganger momentarily forget his own misery to raise an eyebrow at the samurai, even as he was being helped back into an upright position. He didn’t seem to be the only one who noticed that moment of sheepishness, either, as a soft giggle came from his other side, and when he turned it was to meet Fujiko’s playful gaze while she settled into place.

Even though he knew they were sandwiching him to keep him from toppling over and hurting himself more, the warmth felt inclusive and soothing, cutting through the anxiety and misery of injury with casual contact. That easy intimacy they all shared still felt so alien when he watched them, but having it directed his way was… both comforting and confusing. It just meant he was part of the group, right? That adorable, awkward look that had crossed Goemon’s face didn’t mean anything.

Wait… Adorable?

Fuck, his head hurt too much for this. Blackbird sighed, drawing curious looks but mercifully no questions from either side of him as he sank farther into the blanket with another spike of nausea. Those were thoughts for another time, when he wasn’t medicated and sore. 

Sweep it into the box of feelings for now.


	16. Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys what the hell. Last chapter I was saying how cool it was to reach 700 hits, and now we're at 800 already?? Why are you all so beautiful and kind????
> 
> ...And now to thank you, a fun fact: did you know night terrors can be brought on by head injuries? :3c

_I've lost count of the ways I've tried to shut this down  
_ _But the flame never goes out  
_ _All the dangers I've faced I've taken on my own  
_ _I've never had reason to doubt  
_ _But you, you've opened through_

\-- Matrix & Futurebound, "Control"

* * *

When Goemon first realized he had feelings for Fujiko, he panicked. He spent weeks trying to center himself and let go of the infatuation before it became a serious weakness -- but whenever he thought he had overcome it, she would appear and destroy his willpower with only a smile. 

How could he have let himself slip so far? Would he start putting their lives and success at risk because of what her mere presence could do to him?

With time and begrudging talks with the others, those fears slowly faded, replaced by curiosity and affection as he dared to let himself get closer.

When he fell for Jigen, he spent a while pondering the concept of polyamory, startled by the way his feelings for Fujiko were unchanged by this new attraction. It was a case where he knew he could take his time and make the first move, allowing him to truly study his heart at his own pace. 

The lopsided, almost embarrassed smile he got when he finally approached the gunslinger made him wonder why he’d waited at all.

By the time he noticed himself being pulled towards Lupin, he wasn’t even surprised anymore. The thief had always been the star at the center of their group, with seemingly endless amounts of love to give and a personality that drew people in, despite his tendency to be a nuisance. The most difficult thing about getting together with him was keeping Lupin from making it dramatic somehow. 

The four of them had a strange, many-layered, trusting dynamic that made him feel complete in ways he never thought possible, and he wouldn’t trade it for anything. It would take something truly special to add another piece to their puzzle, but…

Here he was, looking at something truly special.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to eat?"

A grumble came from the blanket heap taking up the entire couch.

Goemon paused. "If it's the nausea, do you need a bucket?"

A negative grunt.

It had been nearly two weeks since they escaped Italy, going all the way to Sweden before deciding they were far enough to relax and plan their next move. Finally getting to a hospital revealed that while Blackbird’s left arm was badly broken in two places, his leg only had a bruised bone, and the fractures to his ribs were minor. The concussion was worrying, but there were no skull fractures, and unless side effects persisted or got worse, they were told not to worry too much so long as he was allowed to properly recover. 

Sure enough, his symptoms were certainly getting better, though there were still bouts of misery that turned the double into the mountain of blankets he was currently talking to. It seemed Goemon was the bravest about approaching him in this state, and he was happy to do so.

“Do…” the samurai started to ask another question, but quickly thought better of it and silenced himself. He wasn’t quick enough, though, as the blanket pile stirred and a single dark eye became visible between the layers, peering at him.

“Do what?” Came a muffled question.

Goemon forced himself to remain stoic, but it was impossible to keep every trace of embarrassment from his face. “Do you want to be left alone, or…?”

The heap of blankets shifted again and sighed heavily. “I know I’m a pain in the ass right now, but...”

The samurai waited to let him pull the rest of his thoughts together, watching the blankets continue to squirm.

“...I wouldn’t say no to company, if you wanna stay.”

Even if it was just a sheepish grumble, it was permission, so Goemon held in a smile as he nodded and took a seat on the floor, strategically positioned so he could easily grab the nearest wastebasket in case the doppelganger’s nausea became worse. 

Mistreatment by the other world’s Lupin had left wounds that couldn’t fully heal, and from the scraps of information Goemon had about Jigen’s life before becoming the thief’s partner, it seemed unlikely that Blackbird ever had a properly healthy relationship before. Making a move on him, or even wanting to, would be putting all the trust he had slowly and shakily built towards the group at risk. He still needed them to be his friends, to keep building the bonds he never had, and if anyone tried to skip ahead… they could do so much harm.

Goemon had more respect for him than that. He could maintain this need to watch over and protect, just… keeping it platonic, rather than giving in to sidelong glances and the twitch of his fingers.

If his presence was enough to soothe some of the sharpshooter’s pain, then that would be enough for him, too. It had to be.

* * *

_ Stairs. _

_ Stairs into the dark. _

_ The dark was moving, shifting.  _

_ He knew what it was before he could see it, before he could hear it. He already knew. _

_ “Why?” _

_ He couldn’t move, paralyzed at the top of the stairs. Long, bony hands formed from the dark, dripping something too dark to be blood as they cracked and clawed at each step. _

_ “How could you?” _

_ A broken body dragged itself from the shadows, bleeding and splintering. He knew the face that emerged, and the mingled pain and anger in its hollow eyes struck him to the heart. It was pulling itself up the stairs, slow and agonized. It… no, _ him.

_ “After everything I gave you! I saved you!” Something dark and writhing twisted up from the Other Lupin’s shattered skull, mingling with the shadows. “I loved you! And look what you did to me!” _

_ He couldn’t move. There was a light in the doorway behind him, but he couldn’t turn to look. Only able to watch, as the broken remains of his old life dragged itself up the steps, closer and closer. _

_ Fingers clamped around his ankle, sending spikes of cold up his leg. The scent of blood mingled with Lupin’s cologne as the shattered being seized his other shin and  _ pulled, _ but his voice wouldn’t come even as he crashed painfully onto the steps.  _

_ “You promised you would always be loyal to me! Only to me! You swore it! But all it took was some idiots playing nice to turn you into a cheap whore!” _

_ It was climbing on top of him now, the numbing cold spreading as the twisting, oozing dark began to smother him. Those eyes were still locked on his face, enraged and anguished, but suddenly he could move his head, looking back at the doorway in a panic.  _

_ They were there… all four of them. Standing there, talking and laughing among themselves in the light. He couldn’t scream, but he tried anyway, even as the Other’s fingers wrapped around his neck -- he had to try. _

_ Please… please...  _

_ One by one they looked, surprised but not alarmed to see him there. They seemed to be realizing what was happening, but it was too slow, too late; the dark and the blood was swallowing him, pulling him down, down the stairs. They were too far away… _

_ “TRAITOR!” _

* * *

It was Lupin’s elbow that woke Goemon, digging into his ribs as the thief curled farther around Fujiko in his sleep. The samurai rolled over, but quickly found his throat too dry to comfortably fall back to sleep, so with a soft huff he gently extricated himself from the others and padded out of the room to go downstairs, only pausing to automatically grab Zantetsuken. 

But he froze in his tracks at a sudden thud.

Goemon was immediately on alert, hand instinctively moving to the hilt of his sword as he strained to listen for more sounds. His worry only deepened as he moved to the room where Blackbird was staying, and discovered the door open and the bed empty, blankets strewn on the floor. No sign of the marksman. 

Another several thumps came in quick succession, much closer this time. Goemon was tense and ready to strike as he moved silently to the corner, stepping around and looking down the hall to see… something he hadn’t expected.

Blackbird was slumped on the floor, back against the wall. His expression was twisted in horror, staring wide-eyed at something only he could see, and as Goemon moved closer he could see how badly the double was shaking.

“Are you alright?” the samurai asked cautiously.

No response. 

Goemon frowned and knelt down in front of the doppelganger, studying what he could see of his face in the moonlight coming through the windows. “...Blackbird?”

Still nothing.

The samurai slowly reached out and placed his hand on the double’s shoulder, but the only reaction was a strangled sound of panic as Blackbird flinched and tried thrashing away from him. Goemon had to quickly seize the cast on his left arm, to keep him from hitting it against the wall in his frenzy and doing more damage -- he still seemed unaware of where he was. 

Grabbing his shoulder with the hand that wasn’t still hanging onto the double’s injured arm, Goemon pulled Blackbird against his chest and held him there; he didn’t know what else to do.

_ “I’m sorry… I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” _

The gunman was gasping the words like he was in a trance, still shaking. It only took a moment for Goemon to realize the doppelganger wasn’t talking to him -- he was still caught in that unconscious terror, despite the arm around him.

“Wake up... It’s alright.” What else could he do? Gentle words and an embrace seemed like such a fragile attempt at help, but it was all he could think of. He couldn’t leave Blackbird like this to go get one of the others; it was up to the samurai to get him through this.

“Wake up…”

It felt like an eternity before the double’s stumbling apologies to the darkness faded away, before he stopped thrashing against Goemon’s grip, before his panicked and heavy breathing started to even out. The trembling didn’t stop, but finally,  _ finally _ Blackbird stirred slightly against the samurai’s shoulder.

“Goe...mon?”

“I’m here.”

* * *

_ “I’m here.” _   
  
The words sank in slowly, as did the sensations around him. The sound of his pounding heartbeat slowing and fading back to normality; the smell of rain-washed laundry clinging to Goemon’s clothes; the feeling of the samurai’s arm across his back. 

“You were dreaming,” Goemon murmured against his hair.

Dreaming? Details were already slipping out of his mind, but the thing in the dark, being pulled down and unreachable… that stuck. Funny, he never would have expected to miss having all his dreams be visions of Jigen’s life, but all that time bleeding into one another’s minds almost made him forget how god-awful regular nightmares could be.

Not that this was anything new, though. Bad dreams had been cropping up since he was first brought across timelines, with any number of anxieties being brought to life by his subconscious on a fairly regular basis. It was something all of them struggled with, nothing special. So what if they got worse after the confrontation with his boss? He always chose to sleep in isolated enough places that nobody else needed to know, even after his months away, and he preferred to keep it that way. 

But being woken from a nightmare in a completely different place from where he’d fallen asleep… that was a very recent development. 

“You can g...go back,” he grumbled, ignoring the part of him that complained as he pulled out of the samurai’s embrace. “It’s fine.”

Goemon’s frown made it clear he didn’t believe that for a second, and Blackbird really wished he could stop shaking long enough to make the bluff convincing. Hell, he probably couldn’t even stand like this, injured or not, so hobbling back to bed with whatever shreds of dignity he could scoop up was out of the question. 

He was tired, almost sick with dread, and the lingering horror was clashing with guilt to make him thoroughly ashamed of himself. What a shitshow. Goemon shouldn’t have to deal with this mess, he already did entirely too much tending to the double. He could accept that yes, they were friends and coworkers, but Blackbird wasn’t blind: he could see the samurai inching closer every day. 

It was frightening to think he might throw a wrench in the complex emotional jenga puzzle the rest of the group had between them. He wasn’t sure how things worked with them as far as getting outside crushes, but this was just asking for trouble. After so many years being fucked up, he wasn’t sure he was even capable of functioning in a healthy relationship anymore, and the last thing he wanted to do was make Goemon spend more energy trying to fix the unfixable.

He appreciated what he already had here, and giving in to that romantic curiosity would be one hell of a way to be ungrateful if it all blew up in their faces. He couldn’t do that to them, and he couldn’t do that to Goemon. 

“Come on.”

Blackbird blinked at the outstretched hand for a moment, confused.

“Come on,” Goemon repeated. “I won’t leave you alone tonight.”

Uh oh. No, don’t be touched by the sentiment; let the samurai go back to the others and sleep. 

“It’s... fine, I just--”

“No.” Despite the sternness of his tone, Goemon’s expression was pleading, almost hurt. “Let me do this for you, even just as a friend.”

They stared at each other in the moonlight for a while. So much unsaid, studying one another and themselves. What was more important: comfort, or keeping an emotional distance? Did it even matter right now?

Eventually Blackbird broke eye contact and gave a shaky sigh. “Fine, but you got...gotta help me up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big props to Liz for being evil with me and coming up with a lot of spooky dream Lupin's dialogue~


	17. Panic Station

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <_<  
>_>  
Psst.  
Psst hey.  
Hey guys, how the heck are people still finding this after so long? We hit 1000 hits and I am baffled. But uh... hi! It's tough to make my brain write while the world is ending, but I told myself I would post SOMETHING by the end of my birthday, so have like... two-thirds of a chapter for now. I'm gonna finish it up hopefully soon, but I can't give a specific time due to a hectic work schedule. Turns out being an essential employee ain't all it's cracked up to be, boy howdy. But I WILL finish, promise!
> 
> EDIT: Wow hey, it only took... way too long for me to write another thousand-ish words! The good news is, I've got the next bit of plot pretty well blocked out, so if I don't keel over at work, I shouldn't take as long with the next chapter. 
> 
> As an added little gift, I made a playlist of all the chapter songs, even if I'm the only one who cares. It features the song for the next chapter as a sort of sneak peek, if you just wanna take a look for that. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7FykWMkyouxT0XBbPQKQqr?si=vW7HbYQ2Td6rkemb_Z3m_A

_Doubts will try to break you  
_ _Unleash your heart and soul  
_ _Trouble will surround you  
_ _Start taking some control  
_ _Stand up and deliver  
Your wildest fantasy  
Do what the fuck you want to  
There's no one to appease  
_

\-- Muse, "Panic Station"

* * *

“Hey Blackbird, you seen Goemon? He hasn’t showed up and breakfast’s almost rea--”

Lupin froze mid-sentence as he poked his head in the door, blinking in surprise at what he saw.

No need to look for Goemon anymore, as the samurai was meeting his gaze from the bed with a look that threatened bodily harm if he made too much noise. The reason for that was clear: Blackbird was curled up next to him, tangled in blankets and sound asleep, leaning against the samurai like he was the world’s softest teddy bear.

Lupin’s eyebrows rose so fast they nearly lifted off his head, and Goemon turned bright red as he tried to keep glaring. Choosing not to press his luck, the thief simply grinned and flashed a thumbs up, then retreated around the corner before Goemon decided to throw something at him.

It was inevitable to find Lupin waiting in the kitchen, grinning like the cat that ate the canary with his chin leaning in both hands. Fujiko and Jigen were both more fixated on their respective mugs of coffee, but they too were watching Goemon carefully as he entered the room -- of course Lupin had already told them. The samurai braced for the impending questions as he took a seat.

_ "So," _ Lupin's grin grew even wider. "What was _ that?" _

"It was not what it looked like." Blushing probably wasn't helping his case, but Goemon couldn't help it.

"I told you you were wrong," Fujiko sighed, shooting a look at Lupin, but the thief merely squinted suspiciously.

"Really? 'Cause it sure looked like you were in bed with our dear Birdy." 

Jigen snorted at the nickname. "Don't call him that to his face, or he'll kill you."

Lupin waved off the warning, his eyes still locked on Goemon as he waited for an answer.

“I… was, but not for _ that,” _ the samurai insisted, trying and failing to return his face to its usual color.

“Then what were you doing there?”

That made Goemon pause. Would it be worse for Blackbird to have the others know about his night terror, or to let them go on thinking there was something… suggestive going on? How much of last night's events should stay private?

"...I was there for company," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully and finally returning a neutral expression to his face.

Lupin looked surprised, but understanding quickly seemed to dawn on him (and maybe a little disappointment) as he nodded. After years of Jigen's dreams, the thief knew what it meant to just be there for someone.

However… in the case of Lupin and Jigen, just being company through the nightmarish visions of the other world had turned into something more, and they all knew it. They were still looking at him.

But it was Fujiko, not Lupin, who spoke up first. “Are you disappointed?”

“Disappointed?” Goemon repeated, confused.

“That it was just platonic.”

The samurai bristled, face flushing again as he struggled to find a comeback, but Fujiko’s expression softened and she moved forward to run a hand through his hair affectionately. “You’re pining, Goemon. It’s pretty obvious.”

“I am not _ pining,” _ he huffed.

"You look like a sad puppy every time he leaves the room.”

“Think we’re all pining a bit at this point,” Lupin sighed, gazing mournfully out the window. It was hard to tell if he was teasing or not.

Goemon started to get up. “If you’re just going to mock me--”

“We’re _ not! _ Sit down!”

He did, but only after crossing the room and getting himself a cup of tea.

“So… _ do _ you have a crush?” Lupin leaned forward, his tone more innocent this time with the childish language, batting his eyes a little when Goemon frowned at him in reaction.

“...It does not matter.”

“It kinda does,” Jigen glanced up from his coffee.

Goemon shot him a despairing look. He’d sort of been hoping Jigen would be the voice of reason here, helping him convince Lupin and Fujiko to drop the subject, but no such luck. 

Fine, if they really weren’t going to let this go, he could give them some honesty. “I do... like him, but I have no intention of trying to go farther than that,” he explained carefully. “He does not need that sort of thing now.”

“How do you know?”

Goemon blinked, confused.

“How do you know he doesn’t need _ that sort of thing? _” Fujiko pointed her mug at the samurai. “Have you asked him?”

“I… Of course not.” He could see where this was going, frowning down at the cup in his hands.

Lupin leaned forward again, practically draping himself across the table in order to place his hands on Goemon’s. “Well, maybe you should.”

* * *

It wasn’t hard for the gang to all agree that the mafia’s attack couldn’t go unanswered; it was more a matter of choosing when and how to make their move. Fortunately, it was just a matter of days to track down not only a group in the Russian mob who were a trading partner of the family, but also a shipment about to go down to Italy, and it was too perfect an opportunity to pass up. They followed the goods and waited until the shipment was fully in the mafia’s hands, since the last thing they needed was to get the Russians involved, but then…

"Lupin!"

Things never went exactly as planned.

"Lupin, uncuff me right now!"

It was amazing how Zenigata managed to find the thief wherever he went, but unfortunately for Pops, today he also found Zantetsuken at his throat the instant he was spotted. After that, it was only a few seconds before the inspector was bound with his own cuffs to a light post beside the Fiat, shouting at Lupin's back.

The thief finally sighed, lowering his binoculars and turning a chiding look on Zenigata. "C'mon Pops, this is for your own good. We're trying to keep you outta the crossfire here."

"Crossfire?" The inspector repeated. "What're you--"

He was cut off by Jigen and Blackbird loping back around the corner to rejoin the group, having scouted out a path to their objective. The presence of Zenigata only earned a raised eyebrow from Blackbird and a casual "Hey Pops," from Jigen, and they both proceeded to ignore him as they reported back, much to his annoyance. 

"So if we get past those first few guards at the gate, we should be able to get around back easy enough," Jigen was explaining the plan, motioning towards the places he meant as he talked. Blackbird was adding details here and there, but was mostly just listening until Zenigata's voice made him pause.

"What happened to you?"

He turned, following the inspector's gaze to his left arm, still held in both a cast and a sling. "...Mafia."

"Ah. I see." Zenigata cast an exasperated look at Lupin again. "So that's what you're doing here? Picking a fight with the underworld _ again?" _

Lupin drew himself up like he was genuinely offended by the accusation. _ "No, _they started it!" 

"Actually, we kinda started it," Fujiko pointed out quietly.

"Well okay, but they didn't have to be dicks about it!" Before Zenigata could argue, he continued, "So, Goemon should take point, me and Fujiko behind him. Jigen, you'll be a little behind, and…"

The way Lupin paused, like he was afraid of the reaction his next words would get, made Blackbird scowl in impending anger before he even finished the sentence.

"Blackbird, you stay here and watch Pops."

_ "What?!" _

Lupin quickly held up his hands, both to get the double to pause and to shield himself. "Okay _ listen, _ we can't just leave Pops here alone! What if he wriggles out and comes charging after us?"

"This is 'cause of the arm, isn't it?" The doppelganger growled.

"Well yeah, kinda," Lupin admitted without even a twinge of guilt. "But also it's important to have a lookout! What if more guys come while we're inside?"

Blackbird made a face at him and scoffed angrily.

“I promise we’ll be quick! Just keep an eye on him and make sure we aren’t about to get snuck up on!” Lupin flashed his most pitiful puppy-dog eyes. “I’ll get you some of that good scotch!”

“Fuck that.”

Before Lupin could argue further, Goemon stirred. “We don’t wish for you to be re-injured before you have healed. There is no shame in taking a step back for now.”

Blackbird looked like he was about to protest, but he caught sight of Goemon’s face as he turned. The genuine worry looked strange on a normally calm face; a reminder of just how young the samurai actually was. They made eye contact for a split-second before the double abruptly looked away. 

“...Fine, whatever. I’ll babysit the cop.”

“We’ll be quick,” Lupin repeated, flashing a smile that was unfazed by the annoyed scoff he got in response.

The four of them turned and started down the street, but Goemon hung back for a second, looking like he wanted to speak. However, whatever it was passed before his mouth could open, and he quickly collected himself before darting after the others, the flush on his face barely noticeable. Blackbird watched him go with the faintest hint of a worried grimace.

Sighing and rummaging in his pockets for a smoke, the double suddenly realized Zenigata was staring at him, making him bristle. “What’re you lookin’ at.”

“You.” The blunt answer caused Blackbird to make a face at him, but the inspector was unperturbed. “Are you and Goemon having a fight or something?”

He almost asked why the hell Zenigata would think that, but it was pretty clear he had noticed those tense moments before the others left.

The doppelganger only graced the question with a shake of his head.

“I can’t say I know a lot about the kinda relationships you all have going on, but…” Zenigata trailed off, a little embarrassed, and the silence could be cut with a knife as Blackbird slowly realized what he was implying. 

“Wh-- _ No! _ We’re not… Why would you even…?!” 

Zenigata blinked, suddenly turning red. “Oh?  _ Oh! _ I just figured, with how the rest of them are, and you seem so--”

_ “No,” _ the double insisted before the inspector could finish his sentence. “He might think we should be, but we-- _ he’ll _ get over it.”

Blackbird internally cursed as Zenigata raised an eyebrow, having obviously caught the doppelganger’s slip of the tongue. He tried to ignore it by lighting a cigarette, but the inspector’s thoughtful hum had him visibly prickling, and ultimately he couldn’t keep feigning nonchalance.

“Don’t you fuckin’ start, old man.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I see that look. It’s just like how the rest of ‘em stare at us every damn time we’re in a room together,” he huffed in annoyance. 

“So they think it’s a good idea?”

A grouchy shrug.

“And he thinks it’s a good idea…” Zenigata trailed off suggestively, and somehow Blackbird bristled even more, to the point where it looked like he was ready to combust. 

“Look, all of you can fuck off!” the double snapped. “He’s already dating three dysfunctional assholes, he doesn’t need another one who’s even worse!”

“Isn’t that his choice?”

Blackbird hesitated, startled by the immediate response. “I… Well yeah, but--”

“Over there!”

Before he could even fully think of an argument, the pounding of footsteps on pavement interrupted, and seconds later a small crowd of men appeared around the corner, all brandishing weapons. 

It was a practiced instinct to dive behind the nearest car, even before gunshots rang out to pepper the spot where the double had just been standing. Zenigata immediately started struggling against the handcuffs, but luckily he was sheltered by the Fiat beside him, so being trapped wasn’t a death sentence just yet. 

However, the double barely had time to start thinking about what to do when the gunfire immediately stopped with the sound of a man cursing.

“Careful, idiot! We need him alive!”   
  
“Is that even the right one?” Asked a second male voice.

Blackbird and Zenigata exchanged a baffled look from behind their respective cars.

“Who cares? We can find out once we’ve actually got him!” The first voice snapped.

“Would you two shut up?!” A woman’s voice this time, curt and annoyed. “Get to work instead of yapping!”

This couldn’t be a coincidence. If these people were still part of the Mafia, and were asking if he was ‘the right one…’ Hand tightening on his gun, the doppelganger’s mind drifted back to the wedding he’d attended with Fujiko; to memories of cold eyes and a smile of razor blades.

_ “So you must be Lupin the third’s new friend who’s making such a stir.” _

“Hey!” Zenigata’s voice snapped him back to the present, “Think you can make it over here to uncuff me?”

“What? Why would I do that? I’m supposed t’be keeping you here, remember?”

The inspector started to argue, but was cut off by more suppressing gunfire, which gave him the chance to rein in his temper a little before speaking again. “You need help! You can’t take them all like this!”

Zenigata expected one of several responses to that: anger, stubborn denial, or even grudging acceptance. What he didn’t expect was for Blackbird to laugh. 

There was malice in that voice, sadism in the way his eyes flashed. The grin he shot at Zenigata was a sudden, chilling reminder that the double came from a dark, dark place, and it made the inspector shudder involuntarily.

“Watch me.”


End file.
